It Takes a Woman
by 0ddLikeM3
Summary: Prince Zuko should have thought twice before agreeing to marry any woman who could defeat him in a fight. Especially when that woman intends to take down the entire fire nation...Slightly AU. Possibly an eventual Toph/Zuko pairing(main). And some other pairings...
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender.

Slightly AU in that ages and a lot of the plot has been changed. Toph/Zuko Pairing. OOC Ozai in that he is now not only a bastard, but a sexist bastard. Also, this is RATED M. (Though I will mark mature chapters if immature readers wish to read the story but not be scarred).

* * *

><p>Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. It was said that only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But, when the world needed him most, he vanished.<p>

One hundred years later, The Earth Kingdom was one of the few countries that the Fire Nation had been unsuccessful in invading because of its Great Wall.

Despite this, the Earth Kingdom's childish but benevolent ruler, Kuei, with the advice of his council, recognized that the wall would not be able to keep Ba Sing Se (The Earth Kingdom's Capitol) safe forever, and therefore decided to begin negotiations with the Fire Nation.

The Fire Nation's King: Fire Lord Ozai, however, remained unwilling to negotiate over territory, wealth, and resources. He too recognized that the Fire Nation would eventually be able to break down the Great Wall, and therefore saw no reason to go through with petty negotiations.

He knew that on the day of Sozen's Comet, the Fire Benders would attain enough strength to win the war, and he would then effectively become ruler of the world. Yet he also realized that he would need a worthy successor before he could take action, and with Sozen's Comet being only one year away, he knew he needed to take action fast.

Those in line to the throne, after himself, were his son, Zuko, and his daughter, Azula. While Azula would have made for a perfect successor… she was a female, and therefore unable to assume his role as Fire Lord. And then there was his son, Zuko, who was disappointment in that he was soft—merciful and therefore unbefitting a true Fire Lord. In an attempt to discipline his son and also make his son a man, Lord Ozai challenged him to an Agni Kai, where his son was subsequently scarred. Feeling that the battle had awarded his son with little growth, the King felt then that he should banish his son. But after being convinced by his older brother Iroh that a marriage would mature his son, Lord Ozai then gave his son an ultimatum: marry, or face banishment.

And so the story begins…

The room was spacious and warm. In the center and turned horizontally was a large bed, fashioned with silken red sheets, blankets, and pillows. Above the bed was a window, which was opened, and thus allowed a cool breeze to waft through the room.

In the center of the bed was a male figure, elegant and regal, whom stirred as the air that rushed through the window tickled his face. His long dark eyelashes fluttered, then blinked against the bright sunlight that was a result of the early morning. The young prince of the Fire Nation awoke, feeling a tingling in his right eye. He massaged it, frowning at the rubbery like texture of his burnt skin beneath his smooth fingertips. The eye had healed since the events of the Agni Kai, but his father's words were still burned into his memory.

" _Marry, or face banishment."_

It was ridiculous, really. He was nineteen years old and his ass-hole of a father already expected him to get hitched? Really? Sure, there were plenty of women in the Fire Nation who chased after him, so finding a wife wouldn't exactly be difficult, and yes he did occasionally want to…do things…with women but that didn't mean he was ready for the commitment of a wife and children! But perhaps that was the point—the commitment of it all was supposed to make him a man.

'So I'm not a man already, then? I've got a dick—what more do you people want of me?' Zuko thought to himself. He looked down at his aforementioned body part and smiled at it. He looked around himself for a loose sock, then spotted a clean one on the floor.

Getting up rather ceremoniously from his bed, he tip toed over to it, picked it up, and returned to his bed, allowing his right hand to travel south, then thought ' Maybe it's not so bad, I mean, if I get married, my wife will do this for me, right?' He paused, ' What am I thinking?' He threw the sock back onto the ground below his bed, his mood spoiled as his thoughts returned to marriage.

He sighed, turning over onto his back, continuing to contemplate his situation. His thoughts were interrupted, however, as his uncle Iroh entered the room, unpurposely but dramatically slamming the doors open, his arms spread as wide as the smile on his face.

Zuko glared at the man, childishly throwing a pillow in his direction. "Why did you convince my father that I needed to get married, Uncle?" Zuko exclaimed.

Iroh moved to sit next to him on his bed, picking up the pillow that'd been thrown at him.

" Well, it was that or banishment." He fluffed the pillow between his large old hands.

" You couldn't come up with anything else?"

" Well, I do think a marriage could do you well."

Zuko glared up at his uncle, seething. The last thing he needed right now was to get married. He'd much rather train and fight with his comrades–wait -that was it! Zuko smirked as his devious plan began to formulate.

" I will only marry a woman who can defeat me in a fight." Like any woman, aside from his sister, could. Most men had a hard time defeating him as it was, anyway.

"So you'll marry your sister?"

"That's disgusting!"

Iroh merely stared back at him, earnestly. Zuko's stomach churned.

"No. I will marry any woman to whom I've no relation, who can defeat me in a fight."

"Would you marry a peasant? I hardly think your father would allow for that."

" Fine, I will marry any woman, who is of no relation to me, but who is of appropriate status, who can defeat me in a fight." Zuko sat up in his bed, mentally congratulating himself at his ability to strategize.

' It's perfect. When I am ready to marry, I'll just let the girl win! It's so obvious.'

Iroh folded his legs onto the bed, Zuko huffing at the notice of his uncle's dirty feet. " But if you take too long, you're father will notice and get angry. "

Zuko crossed his arms over his chest, " He didn't say when I had to get married. He just said I did."

His uncle smiled at him, "He implied that it should be soon. But it's fine, Zuko. Uncle Iroh will take care of everything…" Iroh unfolded his legs and stood from the bed, looking down into the annoyed face of his nephew.

' You should know by now from that scar on your face as to what your father is capable of when angered, Zuko. You don't realize it, but taking too long to wed could mean death. Fortunately, you underestimate women's strength. While they may not be equal to you in sheer physical strength, it takes both mind and body to bend, and to win a fight.'

"Uncle…what are you thinking?" Zuko's eyes narrowed to slits, he knew when his uncle was planning something.

" Nothing—I just forgot where I was for a moment. I really am getting old, after all."

And with that, Iroh turned, leaving the room, yet before doing so, he stopped at the door, " Oh, and Zuko, you really should be more excited for marriage. When you find a wife, life will be much easier for the maids who wash your socks."

* * *

><p>TO BE CONTINUED.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: So obviously the story is similar to what it was in some ways, and vastly different in others. If you're wondering where the romance is, it's coming, but I have to build the foundation for the story first. This is it, though hopefully it's a bit exciting/interesting. BEGIN!

The Earth Kingdom is a confederate monarchy led by the Earth King and is the most powerful nation in the world, after the technologically advanced Fire Nation. The people of the Earth Kingdom are proud and strong, and the Earth benders use their abilities for defense, having fiercely defended their cities against attacks by the Fire Nation. However, as time has passed the Fire Nation has continued to attack, thus creating a strain on the populace and economy. And while the people of the Earth Kingdom adhere to a philosophy of peaceful coexistence and cooperation with the other nations of the world, they recognize that when another nation is unwilling to negotiate (such as the Fire Nation), swift action must be implemented.

Within the great walls of Ba Sing Se, the largest city in the world and the Earth Kingdom's Capitol, a highly focused discussion was taking place inside the Palace. A group of six men were gathered about a round table, speaking avidly.

"Your Majesty, the people will revolt if something isn't done about the Fire Nation's continual attacks." One man, councilor Wei Pei reasoned.

"They grow weary of having to defend their lands on their own. Some villages have already fallen to their control. " Responded another of the council.

" What do you suggest I do? I cannot send our soldiers into battle; they aren't strong enough to fight the Fire Nation's technologically advanced weaponry. " The Earth King, Lord Kuei exclaimed, fidgeting in his high chair.

" It would be wise to organize a coup. " King Bumi, the ruler of the Earth Kingdom's second largest city, Omashu, and second in command after Lord Kuei, said.

"Such as?" questioned the Grand Secretariat, Long Feng.

" Look at this. One of my spies found this, among other copies, on the streets of The Fire Nation Capitol. This is an opportunity to save the Earth Kingdom, without bloodshed!" King Bumi held up a scroll, placed it into the center of the table, and unrolled it.

On the paper read " By Royal Decree: Prince Zuko of our noble and great Fire Nation has declared that he will marry any woman whom can defeat him in a fight." In smaller font, below the decree read, " The woman in question must be of the upper class, and of no relation to Prince Zuko."

A pause. King Kuei looked the scroll over, " It is true there is no indication that the woman who defeats him must be from the Fire Nation."

" But my lord, have we any women of our upper class strong enough to beat the Prince? I've heard it said he is a very capable warrior. Furthermore, most of our high class women aren't instructed in the ways of Bending because it is considered unattractive in a lady." One of the councilors interjected.

" There must be a few…" King Bumi beamed, " Life is full of surprises!"

"Indeed," Agreed King Kuei, " This is our only chance. Long Feng!"

"Your majesty?"

" Get your Dai Li to organize a battle arena and tournament for all the unwed upper class ladies of Ba Sing Se and Omashu."

" My lord, surely you do not intend to—"

" The winner of the tournament will fight Prince Zuko. If we're lucky, she will win."

" But your majesty, a wedding between a girl of The Earth Kingdom and The Fire Nation's Prince may not guarantee peace between our lands. For all we know, the girl will become but a slave to the prince and his whims, " said Long Feng.

Councilor Wei Pei agreed, saying, "Even if the prince himself weren't entirely unkind to her, would she not still be ostracized by the people of the Fire Nation? They would not accept her; she is not one of them. Do you truly intend to subjugate one of our finest women to such a treatment?"

General Sung, a man who had been silent since the beginning of the conversation began to speak: " All wars have their casualties. This viable option requires no true loss, no death. The suffering of one woman does not compare to the suffering of millions."

Lord Kuei agreed, " This may be a gamble, but we aren't in a position not to."

King Bumi nodded, his old age showing in the many wrinkles that were etched across his face, " We have luck on our side, we've made it this far."

"But what if our luck runs out?" Long Fend demanded.

" You'll come up with something." Lord Bumi grinned toothily.

General Sung clapped him softly on the back, " You're a crafty old man, aren't you, King Bumi?"

" It comes with the age."

And with that, the generals, the High Secretariat, the council member and the two kings began to plan for the tournament that would soon be held in the kingdom of Earth.

The Earths Kingdom's greatest city and capitol; Ba Sing Se is by far the largest city in the world. It is also notable for having a unique system of dividing the populace into different parts of the city based on social status. To the north of the city lived the farmers and peasants, to the south was the working class, to the east was the upper class merchants and doctors, and the West was consumed by the Kings Palace and the houses of his royal relatives.

Toph Bei Fong, along with her parents, lived in a large house that was technically in both East and West parts of the city, due to its size. She had moved recently to the city of Ba Sing Se after her hometown of Gaoling had been invaded by the fire nation.

Toph Bei Fong was blind girl of sixteen years. She was small in stature, and had a frail looking body. She had long obsidian hair, pale skin, and her grey eyes often reflected the colors of whatever they landed upon. She, at a first glance, appeared quite similar to other upper class girls of the Earth Nation, but at a closer look, one would see that there was an unusual confidence in her stride, one would find a cheekiness in her smile, and if you looked at her feet, you would notice callouses. At the moment, Toph was meandering about the courtyard of her new home, stomping her feet in a rather masculine manner.

"Stupid fire nation." Toph remarked to herself, aloud, then, "Stupid Ba Sing Se."

' I hate this place, even more then Gaoling—and that's saying something! This city supposed to be so great, but they don't even have Earth Rumble here!' Toph thought, angrily, the ground beneath her trembling slightly. ' I miss the tournaments. The thrill of winning against all those stupid men who underestimated me . . . but even more than that…'

" I don't even get any privacy here!" Toph screamed, turning her head so that she could glare in the direction of one of the guards. Yes, her family's estate was complete with maids and guards.

" I apologize for causing you any disturbance, milady, but I am here to protect you." Said her personal guard, Xin Fu.

" You of all people should know I don't need any protection," Toph remarked, turning away from him, staring blankly at the sky, her grey orbs reflecting its color, " You know my strength."

" You speak of the strength you demonstrated as The Blind Bandit." Xin Fu stated, referring to Toph's Earthbending wrestler name.

" Hello, The Blind Bandit and I are the same person. Though I've had to abandon that persona since coming to Ba Sing Se. There are no tournaments here. " Toph plopped herself onto the green grass beneath her, facing him, her silken jade robes becoming soiled by the dirt as she did so. Xin Fu shrugged, it was true he'd seen her fight, he'd been the promoter as well as the host of the underground Earthbending tournament Earth Rumble VI, which Toph had, unbeknownst to her parents, fought in under the alias of "The Blind Bandit."

A moment passed.

"Isn't it impractical to have you of all people as a body-guard?" Toph questioned. Xin Fu's eyebrow twitched. He had once been an Earthbending wrestler himself, but unlike most of the other wrestlers, he was very business savvy, and always looking for another way to make money. After the Fire Nation attacked Gaoling, he realized his best option for money was to be hired by Lao Bei Fong, Toph's father, in order to be one of the guards at the Bei Fong's estate. Luckily for him, and unluckily for Toph, Mr. Lao had hired him as Toph's bodyguard. Mr. Lao had been afraid for his daughter's welfare since the Fire Nation had attacked Gaoling. Little did he know, Toph had in fact defeated Xin Fu in a fight before, which she, to the annoyance of Xin Fu, boasted about every. single. day.

" And are you going to tell your father you beat me?" Xin Fu questioned casually, circling around Toph's small form.

" Uhh, of course not. Not like he'd believe it, anyway." Toph grunted.

Xin Fu sighed in relief; he didn't need anything getting between him and money. Especially not something like an obnoxious little blind brat whose robes were coming undone, making her cleavage visible.

Toph noticed a difference in Xi Fu's stance, and a slight change in his breathing pattern, " Hey, what the hell are you looking at?" She readjusted her robes and stood.

" I can't tell my dad I beat you, but I can tell him you're a creeper!"

Xin Fu remained stoic, " You have no proof."

Toph face palmed, " You aren't even denying it."

" The first step is acceptance."

Toph threw her hands into the air, " Gah!"

The corner of Xin Fu's mouth quirked upward, as Toph laughed uproariously, her head falling back.

" Ehem." Poppy Bei Fong tip-toed onto the scene with caution, " Are you alright, Toph?"

Toph breathed in. She loved her mother, but the damn woman was far too overprotective.

" I'm fine, mother. I was just amused by a story Xin Fu was telling me."

" Don't hurt yourself laughing, dear." Poppy said, worriedly. Toph did an inner eye-roll.

" Of course not, mother. What is it you want?"

" I came to inform you of a tournament…" Her mother began, pulling a scroll from her sleeve and unrolling it. Toph did a double take, thinking only 'What?'

" The Earth King has sent decrees ordering all unmarried girls to attend a tournament tomorrow, where they must compete for prizes. The winner has a chance at becoming royalty."

' Who care's about any of that crap? I wanna fight!' Toph thought to herself. 'But isn't it strange that mother would be the one to tell me—"

" Naturally I'll be informing the King that you will be unable to participate due to your blindness." Poppy said, rolling the scroll up and tucking it back into her sleeve, " I just thought I should tell you about it now in case you caught wind of it later somehow."

Sometimes, Toph wondered if her mother was just spiteful.

" I don't talk to anyone outside of our home, so how could I 'catch wind of it later'?"

" Who knows? Maybe you'd overhear the maids gossiping." With one look at her daughter's sullen face, Poppy added, " I know you're disappointed, dear, but it just isn't safe."

Sensing Toph's anger over the matter, which would mean more trouble for him later, and also feeling that the tournament could be an interesting place to find opportunities to make money, Xin Fu said, " But Ms. Poppy, Toph would do well in such a tournament."

Both Ms. Poppy and Toph looked at Xin Fu as if he'd grown twelve arms, though for different reasons. ' He isn't going to tell her about Earth Rumble, is he?' Toph thought to herself.

Xin Fu continued, " Surely this tournament is one that revolves around beauty and manners. Why else would it require only the Earth Kingdoms young and fine ladies?"

Poppy Bei Fong paused, then, " That's true . . ."

Toph sensed the lie in Xin Fu's voice and smirked inwardly, while outwardly attempting to fake tears, " Mother, because I'm blind, I've never been able to know if I am aesthetically pleasing in appearance. "

" Nonsense, Toph, darling, you're beautiful!" Her mother began.

" - but I am confident in my manners . . ."

" You do have great manners dear, but—"

"- Even if I couldn't win such a tournament, mother, I'd like to make you proud."

Tears welled in Poppy's eyes " Toph, I understand." She embraced her daughter, then turned to Xin Fu, "As long as he goes with you, I will allow it."

" Oh, mother, thank-you so much." Toph exclaimed, returning the hug. She glanced up in Xin Fu's direction, smirked, and then mouthed the words:

" The Blind Bandit… is back."


	3. Chapter 3

I'd like to recommend a manga. It's called "Venus Ni Arazu." It's really cute. I DON'T OWN IT, OR ANYTHING ELSE THOUGH. K? Anyways…

FYI: I'm trying my best to stay true to Toph and Zuko's characters. Though since they are both older in my story, both have matured (err, a tiny bit, at least) -physically and mentally from whom they were in the series. And they are both still butt-headed and obnoxious; so don't be surprised if they annoy you a little. Hopefully they'll be loveable too, though? Who knows…

ON WITH THE STORY!

-xxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxxxx-xxxxxxx

The rules of Earth Rumble are simple: knock the other fighter out of the ring with Earth-bending and you advance to the next round. It's filled with extravagant fighters with unique names like "The Boulder," or "Wild Man." The fighter who defeats all others gets to challenge the winner of the past Earth Rumble competition for the title of **Earth-bending Champion** and prestigious Earth Rumble belt.

The current holder of the belt is none other than "The Blind Bandit," otherwise known as Toph Bei Fong. Generally, Toph usually wore her green and pale yellow belted tunic and pants to tournaments, because they allowed her flexibility and comfort. Today, however, Toph sported a loose, ankle touching white yukata with a green obi, and a matching green headband.

" You did bring me an extra pair of clothes, right?" Toph mumbled as she rode inside the ostrich drawn carriage, feeling blind and uncomfortable, as her feet were not touching the ground.

Xin Fu smiled innocently, "And why would I do that?"

" How the hell am I supposed to fight in these clothes?"

" That's not really my problem, now, is it?"

Toph would have punched his arm in annoyance if she could see, and if the cart hadn't catapulted over a rock, jostling her to the side. Toph grunted, then moved back to an upright sitting position, opposite Xin Fu.

" Aren't you supposed to protect me, or whatever?" She said.

" And it was only yesterday that you were saying that you didn't need any protection." Xin Fu countered.

Toph's face reddened, " I don't need protection!"

" So what's the problem?"

Toph regained her composure and leaned back against the hard, polished dark wood of the carriage, " My parents pay you, don't they? If a man gets paid to do a job, he should do it."

Xin Fu sighed, then nodded, "You're right."

"Of course I am! Wait wha-" Toph hadn't expected Xin Fu to give up so easily. Something was up.

" We should just turn the cart around right now . . ." He began lazily, "Driver!" He ordered, sticking his head out the window.

The streets of Ba Sing Se were crowded, loud, and bustling, so the man driving the cart did not hear him. Xin Fu opened his mouth to shout again, Toph interrupting him.

" Okay! I get it, already. I'll just have to fight as I am."

"I'm glad you understand."

"Whatever. Where is this thing again?" She questioned, closing her eyes.

" The Western section of Ba Sing Se. It's where the King and his subjects live. The Dai Li have prepared temporary grounds for this tournament using their Earth Bending Skills, and that is where you will fight."

Toph nodded, " Are the rules the same as Earth Rumble?"

Xin Fu shrugged. A vein pulsated in Toph's forehead, " Didn't you tell my mother you were going to research this thing?" Xin Fu shrugged again, and just as Toph was about to angrily shout a few choice words at her body- guard, the carriage came to a stop.

" We're here." Said the driver, opening the door for her and Xin Fu.

Toph bustled out the door, pushing an expecting Xin Fu out of her way and growling, " Ladies first." Yes, she found Xin Fu annoying, but the truth was that she was anxious to have her feet on the ground again.

She stretched her hand out haphazardly, panting slightly, calming only as she grabbed the drivers offered hand and was helped to the ground.

Immediately her senses returned, making her a little dizzy and excited. She could feel the earth trembling beneath her feet, vibrations from carts, people, and animals bustling about her.

Xin Fu patted her shoulder, " Ready to go?" She shrugged his hand off of her," I'm always ready to fight."

They walked for a few moments, passing houses, restaurants and Dai Li offices before Xin Fu stopped at an entrance.

" Is it here?" Toph asked.

Xin Fu nodded, "There's a really big sign."

Toph could recognize when Xin Fu was blatantly trying to piss her off, so she said nothing. They remained at the entrance. She closed her eyes and allowed the vibrations of the building to overwhelm her. It was a free- standing, circular structure that had no ceiling, and that had a low, grounded arena as well as high audience seats. The building had been made from earth that came from various parts of the city, she could tell by its consistency, and it was a little uneven, which meant this must have been an overnight ordeal.

For the first time, Toph wondered about what she was getting herself into, _' Why would the King suddenly order all of the Earth Kingdoms richest young ladies to take part in a tournament, anyway?'_

"I'm kinda getting some funny vibes," She said.

" You're just nervous." Xin Fu replied, " You haven't fought since Gaoling was taken. It's been three months."

" Toph Bei Fong is never nervous." Her fists clenched and unclenched.

Xin Fu smirked at her, "Is that so?" She nodded.

He leaned down to whisper in her ear, "I'll protect you. Don't worry. "

" You're creepy. Old man."

Xin Fu's eyebrow twitched, Toph walking ahead of him before turning her head in his direction and saying, " Are you coming?"

He sighed, complying.

They walked together through the entrance, Xin Fu muttering the word "colosseum."

Toph was thinking of how she was going to fight in her restrictive kimono, but was also bristling with a nervous excitement. This was the first time she was going to be around other girls her age because she had been sheltered by her parents who believed her blindness made her fragile and incapable of looking after herself. They went to extreme measures to protect her, including hiding her existence from the rest of the world, which resulted in only a few knowing that the Bei Fong family even had a daughter. Toph had been surprised that her mother had even allowed her to come to this tournament (even though she thought it was a beauty contest). 'Mom must really trust Xin Fu.' She thought to herself, rolling her eyes as she recognized his voice in a distant area of the arena. He was chatting up young girls, it seemed. ' That trust is definitely misplaced.'

Toph continued to stand in place, blinking as she heard a girl giggle behind her.

" Are you lost?" The girl asked. She had a soft, high-pitched voice.

Toph turned in her general direction, becoming flustered, " No, I was just admiring the view."

' I am such an idiot.'

" Well, you're kinda holding everyone up. Don't you see that sign over there? You're supposed to go sign your name."

" Oh. Right. Sorry." Toph paused, feeling lost, " Walk with me?"

The girl looked her over, " This is a competition, isn't it? I didn't come here to make friends." The girl flipped her hair, smacking Toph in the face with it. Toph blinked, and then followed her, ' That makes sense, I guess.'

As Toph stood behind the girl, she could feel the stares on her.

" Why is that girl following you?"

" Oh. My. God. Look at what she's wearing! Who wears traditional clothing to a beauty contest, anyway?"

The girl from before turned and looked Toph over, " You can go away now." Toph felt her face reddening, then said, " I thought that we were supposed to sign our names here." _' I figured that's where she was going, that's why I followed her . . .'_

" Um, hello, I pointed out the sign to you? I came over here so that I could be with my friends."

" Look, I'm blind OK? I can't see this sign you keep talking about."

There was a moment of silence. Toph expected the usual pity party, but then, " How does a blind girl expect to win this kind of thing if she can't even pick out the clothes she's going to be wearing or put on make-up?"

Toph swallowed her pride, " Just take me to the sign in area, please."

The girl shrugged, " It's not like I have anything better to do right now, so I guess I'll do my good deed of the day and help you out." The girl started walking, her friends and Toph following in suit.

The girl stopped at a booth like structure that was built inside part of the wall of the colosseum-like structure, " Ok, we're here. I'm guessing even you can figure it out now."

" Yeah, thanks," Toph said, rolling her eyes. _' They're just acting like that because they're intimidated. Rivals in any tournament are always egging each-other on.'_

Toph's thoughts were interrupted by a deep voice, " Are you checking in?"

Toph nodded, " Yes. Toph Bei Fong."

"Sign your name, please, with your signature. " He stated flatly.

Toph reached her hand out as he placed a thin brush in it, " Where . . .?" She asked.

" At the bottom, where it says 'Sign here'."

" Oh, of course." Toph said, calmly, as she moved her other hand out to touch the paper in front of her, wiggling her thumb so that she could find the bottom of the page. She then signed it, and sighed in relief as he took it. He laughed, " That's a big signature." Toph nodded, chuckling uneasily while the girl and her friends snickered behind her.

Toph eventually migrated away from the girl and her clique, deciding it was better to sit in one of the audience seats, alone. Generally, before all tournaments, fighters had to sign contracts and other things, so she was unsurprised by the check-in booth. It also often took about two hours or so before 'the show,' or rather, fights began, especially in large tournaments because the organizers had to arrange fight sequences and make sure everyone had signed all the right documents.

'Where the heck is Xin Fu?' Toph thought, leaning into her earthen chair, calmly allowing the vibrations and noise of the colosseum overwhelm her senses.

' Probably still trying to swindle young girls out of their money.' Toph thought back to the girl and her clique from before. _'They'd all been so assured that this was a beauty contest. It better fuckin' not be, or Xin Fu's dead meat.'_ She thought to herself. _' And those girls… I know rivalry and mockery in any competition is normal, but we're the same age . . . and we're from similar backgrounds. Why did she have to act like that?' _Toph closed her eyes, then berated herself, _' what was I expecting anyway? That I'd make some friends? I'm sixteen years old and I've never had a friend, why would that change now?'_ Toph jolted at the sound of a booming noise, " LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" It exclaimed, echoing throughout the stadium. Toph searched for the noise until she pinpointed a presence in the center of the arena. It was Xin Fu. _'What the hell is he doing…?'_ She thought to herself, _' How did he become the announcer for this thing in such a short amount of time? Sigh . . . That guy is always finding ways to make money.'_

" WE HAVE FINISHED CHECKING IN AND WE ARE NOW GOING TO ASK THE YOUNG LADIES HERE FOR THE TOURNAMENT TO ENTER THE FIRST THREE AUDIENCE ROWS. OUTSIDE AUDIENCE MEMBERS WILL BE COMING IN ABOUT AN HOUR, AFTER OUR PRELIMINARY ROUNDS."

Xin Fu continued, " AS I'M SURE YOU ALL UNDERSTAND FROM THE DOCUMENTS YOU SIGNED, THESE WILL BE FRIENDLY MATCHES WHERE THE OBJECTIVE IS TO FIND A WAY TO OVERCOME YOUR OPPONENT. . ."

Toph smirked_, ' So we will fight.'_ Her smirk widened as she heard worried murmurs from across the stadium. Clearly the girls had failed to read the fine print. Well, Toph assumed there must have been something of the sort.

" AND WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, LET US BEGIN!"

-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxx-xxxxx-xxxxxx-

The corridors of The Fire Nation's palace were usually quiet. There was the occasional sound of gossip being exchanged amongst maids, or the clicking of high class women's shoes against the ground, and always the crackling noise that the torches gave off. But not today, today there was an unusual disturbance, which was coming from none other than the Fire Nation's Prince himself.

"UNCLE!" He shouted, storming down the illustrious stone hallways, carelessly brushing past all in his way. There was a piece of crushed, official parchment in his right hand, which he was brandishing threateningly above his head. As he came to a fork in his path, he took a left turn, heading to the royal gardens, where his uncle could frequently be found playing Shogi or drinking tea.

He passed a few hallways, eventually entering the gardens where he spotted his uncle sitting at the back, under a Cherry Blossom tree. He was playing Shogi, as always, and enjoying a hot cup of tea.

Zuko shouted again, with more fervor this time, "UNCLE!" He stomped forward, passing peonies, lilies, bamboo shoots, chrysanthemums and ponds.

His uncle greeted him " Good morning, Zuko. Are you hungry? Song Yi prepared tea. She also brought pastries from the cook. Have some!"

" The last thing I care about is breakfast right now, uncle." Zuko stated, he then brought forth the crumpled paper that was in his hand and ripped it open, " What is the meaning of this?"

On the parchment read, ' Any girl in the palace capable of defeating Prince Zuko in a fight will be one day crowned Fire lady.'

" Every girl in the palace is going to be after me!"

" Oh ho ho, Zuko, were they not already?" His uncle chuckled.

" Thats not the point uncle, now they're all going to be challenging me! Every. waking. moment! Life's trouble enough without all this!"

" Now, now, you wouldn't have requested for this if you hadn't meant it now would you have?"

" I wasn't- I was- I was delusional! I take it back! I take it all back!" Zuko shouted.

" Oh, now it's too late for that dear nephew. I've already sent out flyers and posters throughout the Fire Nation." Uncle Iroh chuckled.

" What!"

" Oh my, I think I have a few with me right now . . . will you help me put some up in the gardens?" He withdrew a few scrolls from his sleeve, unrolling them onto the table in front of him, moving his Shogi and tea aside. Zuko grabbed the papers and threw them onto the garden floors.

" I told you I don't want this!"

" But think of all the good that will come from it; you'll have a strong wife! I didn't know that was your type before now, either. Personally, I like my women delicate-like a flower-but to each his own!" His uncle smiled giddily.

Zuko was about to say something when he was suddenly interrupted by Song Yi, who was carrying a new tray of tea and sweets, careful to tip toe over the fallen papers.

" More tea, Master Iroh?" The girl asked, bowing, her auburn hair spilling from over her shoulder as she did so, equally auburn eyes downcast in show of respect. Song Yi could easily be recognized as the prettiest girl in the palace, aside from Princess Azula and Ty Lee, if it were not for the large quantities of make-up she insisted upon caking on to her face.

" Oh, yes, thank-you Song Yi." Said uncle Iroh, taking a cup from the tray.

" And you Master Zuko?" Song Yi bowed, the golden bells in her hair ringing. Her hair was half up in a bun, which was decorated with the bells, and half down. She wore it the same way as all other female servants in the palace, aside from the bells, which signified that she was related to the High Courtesan, Song Yang, whom was the only courtesan to Fire Lord Ozai. The bells were meant to signify her high status (courtesans are respectable figures in the Fire Nation), which was higher than many of the other servants at the palace, even though all who worked inside the Royal Inner Palace had to be of upper status.

"Oh. Thank-you." He said, smiling, accepting a tea cup. He lifted it to his nose, enjoying the sent. He then paused, something about the tea smelled different today-it smelled like spices, as usual, but it also had hints of metal and something unidentifiable. He shrugged, taking a gulp. Immediately he felt a shift in his perception. Colors and shapes were becoming a blur, and there was a slight ringing in his head. He lowered his cup then looked up at Song Yi, shocked.

" Song Yi-you-?"

Before Zuko could finish his sentence, he was dodging to the left, his cup falling from his hands as Song Yi threw the tray of hot tea and sweets at him, sticky honey attaching itself to the grass of the ground and to Zuko's robes.

Song Yi pulled three pins from her hair, undoing her bun, and brandishing them as she made a fist, " Master Zuko, I challenge you to a fight!"

To be continued . . .


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own anything. And another manga recommendation: _Immortal Rain_. The art, storyline, -everything is stunning.

There's a lot of fighting in this chapter. Heheeh. Maybe I should have labeled this as an action story? Well, don't worry my dear Readers, there will eventually be romance… and more. Eventually. Heheheheh. Hope you like seeing things in Toph's POV too (I tried it out in this chap. Let me know if you all prefer a narrative or character POV's—or are indifferent)

ON WITH LE STORY

xxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xx

Song Yi pulled three pins from her hair, undoing her bun, and brandishing them as she made a fist, " Master Zuko, I challenge you to a fight!"

The truth was, Song Yi had not been trained in Dual Swordsmanship, Fire Bending, or any other form of martial art. This was why she had given Zuko a drugged tea, one that she hoped could put her on equal grounds with him.

It did not.

In a matter of moments Zuko was already pinning the clothing of her arms to the ground with her own hairpins, and then effectively running away as fast as he could. Iroh helped her up, again, and Song Yi dejectedly left to retrieve him some more tea.

Zuko ran through the gardens entrance, covering his face as he passed any female, running down the hallways. He was almost to his room when he was stopped by a voice from behind him.

" Zuko, are you drunk?"

It was Ty Lee, the daughter of a nobleman and a long-time friend to his sister Azula, whom she followed blindly.

Zuko kept his back turned to her, and raised his voice to a squeaky high pitch, " What are you talking about? I'm not Zuko! I'm –uhhh-Ping . . . Pong."

Ty Lee laughed, " You're totally drunk. I mean, just look at the way you've been running—all zig-zagy."

" I told you, my name's Ping Pong." He kept up the pretentious clown voice.

" Is that your drunken persona, Zuko? Well, I guess it's a good thing you are drunk . . . otherwise I wouldn't have a chance at winning."

Zuko reached for his doorknob, but before he could, he was dizzily throwing himself to the grown as Ty Lee's fist whizzed past his face.

They both shifted into fighting stances. Zuko flipped his long hair out of his face, which had come undone from its traditional topknot during his fight with Song Yi.

" Ty Lee, you don't honestly think your circus tricks can win against fire bending, do you?"

Ty lee's chocolate brown eyes crinkled in amusement, " I'll block your chi, and then you wont be able to."

'Shit, I forgot she could do that.'

Ty Lee is a formidable hand-to-hand combatant, utilizing a unique form of martial arts that attacks the pressure points on the human body. By striking these, she is able to disrupt that individual's chi flow and temporarily paralyze them, removing their ability to use bending.

"Does Azula approve of all this?" Zuko questioned.

" Oh yeah, it was her idea in the first place. Don't worry Zuko, we'll make cute babies." Ty Lee winked as she threw herself forward with a spinning kick.

Zuko blocked her leg with his left hand, bringing his right hand forward to grab her leg and throw her to the ground. Ty Lee allowed herself to be thrown halfway before grabbing both of his legs, effectively bringing them both to the ground.

She landed on top of him at first, but he rolled over on top of her, only to be thrown off as he was kicked in the stomach.

Zuko landed on his feet, and Ty Lee jumped to hers, bringing her elbow up above her head before attempting bringing it down onto his shoulder. He dodged the attack, which would have blocked his chi and dislocated his shoulder.

" If you're not going to play nice, then I'm not either."

With that, Zuko moved his hands in a circular motion, making a ring of fire around Ty Lee.

" Hey! That's not fair!" Ty Lee shouted, " How am I gonna get out of this?"

" I'll put it out when I'm inside my room." Zuko stated, before he opened the door to his bedroom and rushed inside. He barricaded the door with his bookshelf and with a few chairs, then broke the fire ring around Ty Lee.

He heard a muttered, " Thanks." From behind the door, then the sound of fading footsteps.

Zuko sighed in relief, then moved to his bed and plopped onto it. The bed bounced beneath his weight, the red of his robes matching perfectly with the red of his sheets.

The drug was beginning to wear off—it was a good thing he'd only taken one gulp of the tea. Otherwise, he'd have lost to even Song Yi, and definitely to Ty Lee.

' Then I'd have to marry her . . .' Zuko shuddered. There was nothing wrong with Song Yi or Ty Lee, per se; he just didn't want to _marry_ them, or anyone, for that matter.

'Since when is being married—or willing to be married—the only benchmark for growing up?' Zuko thought to himself. That was why his father had ordered him to do so, anyway. He wanted his son to 'mature' and become more of a 'man.'

' I'm nineteen years old, already! I'm a man!' Zuko thought angrily. ' And it's not like Dad has a clue about marriage anyway. Look at how that turned out. He allowed himself to be a part of an arranged marriage even though he was already in love with someone else (Song Yang.) Then he ignored mother's feelings, and once he assumed power, he banished her so that he could be with Song Yang, and made her is High Courtesan.'

(Since Ursa –Zuko's mother- was not killed, she is still technically the "Fire Lady." This is why Song Yang couldn't become the Fire Lady and only became Ozai's High Courtesan. It is unknown as to why Ozai spared Ursa from death.)

Zuko considered the topic for a while until he suddenly did a double take, rolling over on his bed, ' Doesn't that make Song Yi my half sister? Ewww and she was gonna try to marry me!'

Zuko shuddered, then said aloud, " And what's with Azula trying to play match-maker with me and Ty Lee? I mean, of all her friends to choose from, you'd think she'd pick Mai . . .' Zuko paused at the thought, then frowned, his thoughts turning sour.

Azula had been right in not requesting for Mai to battle him. They had dated for three months, but after going on a vacation to Ember Island with his sister, and Ty Lee, they'd broken up.

At Ember Island, Zuko had become increasingly short-tempered and tactless around her, growing frustrated when shiny shells and ice cream failed to impress her (though Zuko did accidentally cause the ice cream to fall into her lap) and protective when other guys took interest in her. When he picked a fight with one of the guys who'd been ogling her, Mai had reprimanded him for being "impatient, hot-headed, and angry." He had then responded by saying that she has "no passion for anything" and that she was "a big blah." Mai had been stung by this, and had softly yet harshly said that their relationship was over. They hadn't spoken since.

Zuko threw a pillow across his bedroom, then decimated it with his fire-bending skills, ' I am not hot-headed.'

After sulking for a while, Zuko realized that he was thirsty, walking to his door so that he could retrieve some water from a maid, when he realized that his own barricade was in his way.

' Shit. If I go outside, I'm going to be bombarded with attacks again.'

" Now what do I do?"

Zuko contemplated his situation for a moment, and then finally decided he couldn't stay inside his room forever. He took a deep breath, and prepared himself for the worst. He un-barricaded his door, and stepped outside.

' Here goes.'

-xxxxxxx-xxxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxxx-

So my first fight was a piece of cake. I didn't even have to use bending. I just tapped the girl on the forehead with a pebble and she fainted. My next fight, another easy one. The girl just laid down on the ground and admitted defeat. It seemed most of the girls were uneasy with fighting someone who could bend, because they themselves either could not, or weren't ever taught how. This was probably because, in the Earth Kingdom, it was frowned upon for upper class women to bend.

It was amusing at first—watching prissy girls bow down to me and admit defeat. It soon became annoying, however, after it happened again, and again, and again. At this point, the few audience members who had showed up were beginning to doze off. —Who wants to watch fights where no one is even trying?

I was starting to get sick of this trend. I was obviously going to win the damn thing if every girl surrendered.

Lastly, I was paired up against The Girl from before, the one who had mocked my clothing and such. I sighed, and gestured for her to bow down and admit defeat to me like all the others had.

She smirked at me upon entering the stage and said, " This is going to be so easy."

I did an inner high five, ' _They saved the best for last_.'

On the outside I remained as stoic as I am capable of (which really isn't stoic at all) and I cocked a brow, " Do you think so?"

She flipped her shoulder length hair over her shoulder, " I know so."

The girl whipped to fans out from her obi, " Beauty contests, fighting contests, it doesn't matter what it is—I win it."

I chuckled, " I like your spunk. What was your name again?"

" My name is Mariko. And I'm sorry, but a _blind_ girl like you really doesn't stand a chance against someone who was raised by _the_ Kyoshi warriors."

I said nothing, but whipped out a few large rocks, sending them plummeting towards Mariko. They were light enough, and were a good way to test if this girl was serious about being a Kyoshi warrior. If she was, then this tournament was about to get interesting.

Mariko dodged the rocks effectively by running, coming into a close proximity with me. She whipped a fan open, trying to use its metallic edge to slice and dice me. I sidestepped her advance easily.

When I had first fought women who had been trained or raised by Kyoshi warriors back at Earth Rumble tournaments, the dual fans had thrown me off a bit for a little while, though I eventually had figured it out. I knew from previous tournaments that Kyoshi warriors liked to evade, redirect and generally make themselves a pain in the ass.

I preferred more direct attacks, (though I could easily make myself a pain in the ass) and, feeling egged on by the awakened audience, I threw the girl off her footing by sliding the earth beneath her feet from side to side. She fell, but quickly recomposed herself, saying, " I underestimated you."

" Fuck yeah, you did." I said, moving the earth beneath her again. She fell (again). " But don't worry, sweetness, I'm used to it."

Revenge is pretty sweet.

The audience's roars were becoming louder, and more people were beginning to fill in.

"Stop toying with me!" Mariko shouted angrily as she flipped herself into the air and away from the ground I was manipulating. She threw a fan at me and I blocked it with a wall of rock. A wall might be a bit excessive for one fan, but the fact of the matter was that I couldn't see things once they were in the air.

And the truth was, I could easily finish off Mariko . . .

'But I might as well give these people a good show.' I thought to myself, smirking. My smirk fell, however, as the fan she had thrown boomeranged from behind me in the air and skimmed the skin of my cheek.

" You underestimated me, too." Said Mariko, catching her fan. I could almost hear her grin. It seemed she had figured out my weakness. Blood dripped down my chin.

' _Well. Things really are getting interesting.'_

Mariko slipped her fingers between the loopholes at the bottom of her fans and began to spin them around her fingertips. She set them loose and they whizzed through the air, slicing at the sleeves of my kimono, even as I ducked.

I laid low to the ground as the fans swooped down and flew just above my head—Mariko catching them as they returned like they were Frisbees. I exhaled in relief that they'd missed me, the warmth of the earth radiating against my hands and relief didn't last long as suddenly, Mariko had disappeared.

I stood back up again only to have Mariko's foot collide into my chest as she executed a flying roundhouse. I fell back onto the ground, rolling to the right as one of her fans landed next to my ear, then rolling to the left to dodge the other.

Because she was so close to me, I could pinpoint the direction she was throwing her fans in.

I stood again, leaving her no time to pick up her fans, moved both arms forwards in a punching motion, which sent two dagger-rocks in her direction.

Mariko jumped high into the air and flipped over me, quickly retrieving her fans from the ground and throwing them at me again. I tried to move my leg outward so that I could form a cocoon of dirt to protect myself—but my kimono proved too restrictive. Instead, I fumbled, and tripped to the side.

This time I wasn't so lucky—there was now a deep gash in my upper outer thigh. The sent of blood filled my nostrils, and I thought,_ ' How the fuck am I supposed to win in this goddamn kimono?'_

Mariko moved to catch her returning fans again and I knew I had to think of something fast—otherwise my head was next!

" I told you a blind girl like you couldn't stand a chance. If you can't see, you can't fight. " Mariko chuckled, and my eyes widened as an idea came to my mind.

"This fight . . . isn't over yet." I looked up at her, and smirked.

" You're pretty arrogant for someone who's about to lose."

" That's my line." I said. The moment she'd mentioned my blindness as a handicap I knew how I was going to win.

I moved my hands upward and clasped them together. Just as she sent her fans flying once again, I swiftly brought my hands back down and was catapulted into the earth, burrowing below the arena's grounds.

Now that I was safely below ground, I just had to pinpoint the area Mariko's vibrations were coming from.

I closed my eyes and focused. As I did so, I felt a distinct sense of clarity in my surroundings. The audience was cheering wildly, Xin Fu was announcing to the audience that I had used my earth-bending skills to bury myself below the ground, and Mariko was shuffling about at the center of our stage. With a powerful punch upward, the earth beneath me moved up and catapulted me out of the earth.

I suspect I must have resembled a flying superhero.

Dirt, dust and mud sprayed out from beneath me and next to me as my fist collided with Mariko's chin, sending her flying backwards. She hit the ground, stunned, and I moved my arms outwards, covering her with a blanket of dirt, causing her to become immobile.

I waltzed up to her, the dried blood on my cheek cracking as I grinned triumphantly, " Now, this fight is over."

Xin Fu marched onto the arena, _my_ stage, and lifted my arm up, saying, " LADIES, AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE A WINNER!"

The audience roared, Mariko huffed, Xin Fu continued to hold my fist up, and I thrust the other one up victoriously.

Everything was great, that is, until, I heard a familiar, approaching voice from the audience. It was my mother. And she was screaming.

Mother was running down the stairs of the audience, people turning to look up or down at her as she shouted my name, " Toph! Toph Bei Fong!"

'_Ohh god . . .'_

Xin Fu helped her down from the sidelines, which were raised above the arena, and she ran up to me, " Toph, are you alright?"

I lowered my fist in an awkward motion, " Mother, I'm fine."

" You're bleeding!" My mother started to cry.

" Mom, what are you saying? It's a scratch."

The audience had grown silent, watching on in interest.

" We have to get you home immediately. Our doctor will take care of you . . . I'm so sorry this happened, Toph. " My mother took my hand, and squeezed it lightly. It was like she was afraid that if she held it too hard, it would break like a piece of glass.

I stayed in place, " Mother, I love fighting. I love being an Earth-bender. And I'm really, really good at it. And just look, I won."

My mother became quiet, " I know, I saw . . . but . . . but it must have been . . . luck or—or Xin Fu probably helped you! "

Xin Fu shook his head, " She fought on her own. In fact, you're daughters been fighting for a while. In Gaoling, you're daughter was known as ' The Blind Bandit.' She's quite talented, really."

My mother gasped—everyone from Gaoling, even my mother, had heard of The Blind Bandit. She turned to me, her mouth opening and closing in shock.

I took her hand in mine, as she had done before, but I squeezed it firmly—neither of us was going to break. "I know I've kept my life secret from you, but you were keeping me secret from the whole world. You were doing it to protect me, I know, but I'm sixteen years old and I've never been to a real school, or had a real friend. So please . . . "

My mother waved her hand, stopping me abruptly, " We're leaving."

Xin Fu began to speak, " Miss Poppy—"

" You're fired," My mother stated flatly. " You allowed her to be in a dangerous situation when you were supposed to be protecting her. Please collect your things from our house by tomorrow morning."

Both Xin Fu and I stood in shock, though after a moment he bowed in resignation.

As my mother dragged me out of the stadium, I heard confused murmurs in the audience, and then Xin Fu's booming voice, shouting, " MARIKO OF THE KYOSHI WARRIORS WINS BY DEFAULT!"

We left the Western area of the city in silence. It was strange to see my mother walking about outside of our home. Even amongst the royalty that traipsed about this side of town, she seemed exceptionally regal.

My mother broke the silence, " Right after your father and I got married, we tried to produce an heir. But after several months of trying, I went to see the doctors, and they told me I was incapable of becoming pregnant."

I kept my mouth closed, my eyes downcast as she continued, " After a while, your father began to consider taking a second wife. He and I never really loved each- other, so I told him it was fine. I had lost all hope. But then, one day I went back to that same doctor, and he told me that there had been a miracle."

She continued, " I was pregnant—with you. Those nine months you were in my belly were the happiest of my life. I knew that you were going to be the most beautiful, intelligent, and healthy baby. You were. But, you were also blind. The doctors told me that there was no cure, no way of fixing it, and that you would forever be in danger of getting hurt. As far as I was concerned, no one was ever going to hurt my baby . . ." My mother turned to me, and I felt my eyes sting with tears, " My baby." She said, stroking my un-wounded cheek, " I'm sorry you haven't been able to do things other children have because of my selfishness. But . . .You're all I have."

We made it to the front doors of our estate. I allowed a tear to roll down my cheek, but wiped it hastily, " I'm sorry for making you worry."

" Toph . . . promise me . . . you will never fight again."

Fighting meant the world to me and I loved my mother. I knew I had to make a choice.

" I promise."

xxx-xxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

TO BE CONTINUED


	5. Chapter 5

TOPH AND ZUKO WILL MEET IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!

No, I'm not going to make y'all wait forever lolz.

ANYWAYS, please keep reviewing! It's what gives me the energy to write!

Will Toph fight again? Read on and find out!

* * *

><p>" MARIKO OF THE KYOSHI WARRIORS WINS BY DEFAULT!" Xin Fu announced.<p>

The girl struggled to remove herself from the pile of dirt that was on top of her, flailing her arms until dust and mud were flying all about her. She stood, finally, and thrusted one arm into the air, coughing lightly.

The audience clapped politely, though most were still baffled by Toph's abrupt departure.

" My, my, I never expected something this interesting." Said King Bumi, who had watched the fight from a private box with King Kuei, who agreed, " I didn't know the Bei Fongs had a daughter . . ."

The box was isolated from the rest of the audience, and was above the ground, but was still viewable to the people. Both King Bumi and King Kuei sat in large magnificent bronze chairs, each with two Dai Li soldiers standing behind them, while another was stationed at the door.

They remained inside it, waiting as Xin Fu escorted Mariko to it so that the girl could collect her prize.

King Kuei nodded, " It appears this is not going to be as simple as I'd hoped. I will have to send some Dai Li to the Bei Fong's estate in order to get the girl to the palace so that we can prepare her."

King Bumi grinned toothily, " And what are we going to do about this Mariko girl?"

King Kuei rolled his eyes, and took off the six golden and jade bracelets he was wearing around his wrists, holding them in his hands. " Do you think these will do?"

King Bumi shrugged, " They say _diamonds_ are a girls best friend."

The door to the private box was knocked on politely, King Kuei gestured to the Dai Li soldier at the door to open it. Both Kings stood from their seats.

Xin Fu and Mariko entered. Mariko bowed to the two kings, who nodded curtly in reply.

" Congratulations on your win. Here is your grand prize, as was promised."

King Kuei handed her the bracelets, Mariko accepting graciously.

There was a pause until King Kuei finally said, " Well . . . you can go home now."

The Dai Li at the door gestured for her to leave, but she held her ground, " What about my chance at becoming a royal?" She asked, placing a hand at her hip.

King Kuei found himself at a loss for words, and then looked to King Bumi, who was already moving.

The old man came forward to Mariko and took her hand in his, rubbing his calloused thumb over the back of her palm, " How would you like to be my fifth wife?" He asked, grinning, his wrinkles sagging as he smiled, " Though I'd like to consummate the marriage before the wedding itself . . ." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Mariko blanched. She then withdrew her hand and laughed politely, " Well … I—umm—I—have a –umm—a boyfriend. Yeah! I have a boyfriend. SO I can't. Thanks for the bracelets! Bye!" With that, she rushed from the room, Xin Fu escorting her back to her parents who were in the audience.

King Kuei chuckled when the door was closed, " Good job getting rid of her."

" Hey, I meant everything I said!" Replied King Bumi, who pouted, " Where did I go wrong?"

King Kuei shook his head in amusement at King Bumi's antics. He knew that King Bumi only acted senile. The man was in fact a brilliant and patient tactician, willing to wait until the opportune moment to strike to best effect. As his thoughts turned to politics, King Kuei became serious again. He himself had only recently begun to take charge of his position after hearing of the destruction of Gaoling from his friend Mr. Bei Fong. It was believed to have been indestructible because of its secretive location and because it had been renowned for having some of the Kingdom's most talented fighters.

Mr. Bei Fong was a friend of King Kuei's, and had informed The King of the war after moving to Ba Sing Se. The King hadn't known of it previously because his Grand Secretariat, Long Feng, had kept it a secret from him—supposedly to "protect" him as a King. After finding out that secrets of such magnitude were being kept from him, The King had decided to become less of a figure head and more of a leader, requesting help from King Bumi of Omashu to help him regain his power over Ba Sing Se, which had been quietly usurped by Long Feng (though he lacked substantial proof-which was why he couldn't banish the man.)

" Zhang Yi," King Kuei began.

The man in question, whom was in his Dai Li green and brown uniform, and who was one of the Dai Li posted behind King Bumi, turned to the king, " My Lord?"

" Bring Toph Bei Fong to the palace."

'As if I would give up fighting,' Toph thought to herself as she stuffed some of her clothes into a bag. She'd already snuck into her kitchen and taken some food items. Toph didn't know where she was going; just that she had to leave. After buttoning the bag shut, she tossed it over a tree branch, making an affective rucksack. Toph moved to the window in her room that was near her bed, the moonlight illuminating her sea-foam green eyes.

It was late at night. Her parents would be asleep by now, and Xin Fu wouldn't bother her since he'd been fired. He only had one more night to stay at the Bei Fong residence.

Toph opened the window, her small muscles flexing at the force she had to use against its wooden form. She turned to her door, breathed in the scent of her room for what she presumed was the last time. It smelled of white peonies, which came from the garden that surrounded her home. She would be lying if she said she wouldn't miss that sweet smell.

' _Mother, I'm sorry-some promises are not meant to be kept. If I stay here, I'll resent life. Good-bye . . .' _

Toph stuck one foot out the window, leaving, before she felt a vibration that indicated several people were about to enter her room. Toph paused, _' . . . Who?'_

The door to her room opened ceremoniously, three men were standing in the doorway.

" Toph Bei Fong?" One asked. They were Dai Li soldiers, Toph could tell by the etchings on their shoes.

" Yeah, that's me." _' What the hell could they want?'_

" The emperor has requested an audience with you. You'll need to come with us."

Toph squinted her eyes at them, " What does he want?"

" He saw your battle at The Tournament this afternoon, and he wants to reward you, as promised, since you were technically the winner."

Toph's interest piqued, " Award me with what?"

" A chance at becoming royalty."

Toph scoffed at that, " No thanks. If I became a royal, I'd be even more trapped then I already am right now."

One of the men, whom had been quiet the whole time quipped in, " Ms. Bei Fong, I can tell that you were trying to run away just now."

Toph became still, as did the air around them, " You're right. What of it?"

" Where do you plan to go?"

Toph shrugged, " Anywhere. I'm going to travel. Maybe become a world famous Earth Bending wrestler."

The man shook his head, " It's a dangerous world outside of Ba Sing Se. You saw what happened to Gaoling. The same thing is happening throughout the entire Earth Kingdom. You wont last a day outside of these walls."

Toph scoffed, " Y'know I'm sick and tired of everyone underestimating me. I can fend for myself."

" I know. I saw your fight. You're strong. But no one can fight alone."

Toph dropped her rucksack next to her, " Wanna bet? I'll take you and your two sidekicks on right now!"

"Sidekicks?" One of the men demanded, slipping on an earth glove angrily.

The man in the middle sighed, " If we win, will you come to the palace?"

Toph cracked her knuckles, " You bet. "

The man slipped a wooden bow from off his shoulder, plucking delicately at the string, " Normally, you would probably win this fight, but a soldier has to consider where they are fighting before they attack. You're house is made of wood, which you can't bend. You're too rash."

Toph clicked her tongue; " Don't take me for a fool. The window's wide open." And with that, she jumped, grabbing her rucksack as she did so, falling in mid air, ready to bend the earth beneath her when she hit it, which would lessen the impact of the fall.

But before Toph could fall, she felt herself pausing mid-air, and a tug on the sleeve of her clothing. A man who had been stationed outside had pinned her to her own house with a few shuriken. Toph of course hadn't sensed him during her fall.

" GOD DAMMIT! YOU CHEATER!" Toph screamed, trying to move, though it was futile.

The man from before looked down at her from her window, his "side-kicks" chuckling, " I told you, you can't fight alone. Which is why I don't. I might be a cheater, but in war, and outside, no one plays fair."

He and his two men jumped from her window, flipping gracefully midair. " You can't see anything right now, can you?" He asked, looking down at her feet, which were _almost _grazing the grass beneath her.

" That'd better not be pity in your voice." Toph glared in front of her.

" Of course not. Listen, my name is Zhang Yi. We're going to transport you to the palace in a metal box because we don't want to risk having you escape. All King Kuei wants is to talk with you, so don't worry."

" Fine." Toph felt her feet being carefully lifted away from the ground as the blades pinning her clothing was removed. She was lifted, and her feet flattened against the cool metallic flooring beneath her as she was lowered into the box. Toph sighed as the box and her-self were pulled along a rocky ground, presumably by ostrich-horses.

It didn't take long to get to the palace as she lived so close by. Soon enough she was already in the Grand Hall of the castle.

" Are we there yet?" She demanded.

Zhang Yi nodded in response. Toph, obviously, didn't see.

Toph growled, " Hey, don't ignore me, you bastards, I asked if we were there yet!"

King Kuei entered the Grand Hall, his pet bear at his side, " Yes, you're here."

" Mind letting me out of this cage?"

King Kuei nodded, " Of course. Let her go."

Zhang Yi opened the metallic box, and offered his hand to Toph, whom slapped it away as she jumped out of the box, feeling empowered when her little feet landed on the earth beneath her.

" So why am I here?" Toph got straight to the point.

King Kuei sat in his Royal High Chair, " I was unaware the Bei-Fongs had a daughter."

" Don't ignore the question, King Cuckoo."

King Kuei rolled his eyes at the insult, " Alright, alright. I've summoned you here to discuss matters of war with you."

Toph felt goose bumps trail her arms and neck, she remembered her hometown Gaoling and the smell of ash, the sound of screams, the feeling of many people falling and running on the earth. It had been the first time in her life since she'd learned to bend that she'd felt truly afraid.

King Kuei continued, " If you accept my proposal, your role in ending this war shall be vital."

The bear next to King Kuei yawned and rolled onto his stomach. Toph scoffed," Do you always come onto girls like this? Thanks but no thanks."

King Kuei's face reddened, and there was a chuckle from behind her; Toph turned in the direction it had come from. It was King Bumi, " Actually, he's trying to set you up with someone else."

Toph pretended to look the old man up and down, " Not you, I hope."

King Bumi laughed, " Oh, I do wish-"

' _Ew,_ 'Toph thought.

"-No, no, in fact, he intends to have you attempt to marry the Prince of the Fire Nation."

Toph froze in shock, as King Bumi continued, " I know, I know, you're wondering 'why me?' Well it's simple, really. You're of marrying age, you're an upstanding young lady-from the richest family in the Earth Kingdom . . ."

Toph interjected, " There are other rich girls."

King Kuei began to speak again, " None like you. You can Earth-bend."

Toph ran her hand through her bangs, " Yeah, okay, but what does that matter?"

" The Prince has declared he will only wed a girl who can defeat him in a fight, " Said King Kuei.

King Bumi nodded, continuing to walk forward until he was only a few feet from Toph, " We believe you are strong enough to face The Prince and strong enough to stand being _with_ him. "

Toph didn't really understand the last of what King Bumi said, but ignored it, " I hate my life. I hate being underestimated. I hate having to act like a proper little girl all the time. And I don't like Fire-benders. What makes you think I'd enter into a world where I'd have to experience all of those things twenty-fold?"

King Kuei stood from where he'd been sitting, " Because your country needs you. You saw what happened to Gaoling. King Bumi and I know you are strong, that's why we're asking you to do this—because you're the only one who can. Miss Bei-Fong, we're not just asking you to marry The Prince of the Fire Nation, we're asking you to save the world. "

Toph contemplating the Kings words for a moment, then turned, " No thanks. That's The Avatar's job."

" B-but he hasn't been seen in over a hundred years!" King Kuei screeched. Toph continued walking, passing green banners and long tables.

As she passed King Bumi, the old man chuckled, " Maybe the little blind girl is too scared?"

Toph turned again, her vein pulsing, " What. Did. You. Just. Say? "

King Bumi shrugged, " You can't do it, I get it. I guess asking a little blind girl from a posh family really was too much. We can always try to disguise a peasant or something. Oh, well."

Toph growled, " I'm not weak!" To prove her point, she lifted a boulder from the ground and punched it at King Bumi, who, with a single poke, turned it to dust.

" You're so weak and scared, you wont take on a mission that the Earth King himself begged you to take. You're a coward." King Bumi shrugged, " But I understand. Look at you."

" I'm not afraid!" Toph shouted, sending another boulder the old mans way. He dodged this time, the boulder landing dangerously close to the sleeping bear next to the Earth King.

" Hey, don't hurt my bear!" King Kuei shouted amongst the chaos, apparently not caring what happened to his Grand Hall.

" Scaredy cat!" King Bumi teased as he dodged boulder after boulder. For an old man, he was surprisingly nimble.

After what was for Toph a grueling match, and for King Bumi a silly game, Toph bowed her head in respect to the elderly King. " I can't win against you."

_' I've fought three times today and lost each time. Even if the first two were by default or trickery. Still. Today is NOT my day.'_

King Bumi nodded, " I know . . .If you can't beat me, who knows if you can defeat the Fire Prince?"

Toph frowned, " I can beat anyone! Well, except you."

King Bumi huffed, " Wanna bet? Ten copper coins."

Toph shook her head, " I'll bet my entire inheritance! I can beat any old 'princess' of the Fire Nation any time I want. Just you wait and see!"

And with that, Toph had been tricked into accepting the two Earth Kings proposal.

It took her a moment to realize that.

" Shit! This Fire Prince better not be an old fart like this guy here!" She gestured to King Bumi.

" I'm young at heart!"

King Kuei shook his head, " The Prince is not old. He's nineteen. And he's rather dashing. Want to see a picture?"

Toph glared in the King's direction, "_ Really_?"

King Kuei scratched his head, " Oops, I forgot."

Toph plopped her-self down onto the ground beneath her and rolled her blind eyes, " Well, when do we get there?"

King Bumi plopped down next to her; his green robes ruffling, " You will leave tomorrow on a ferry with a few escorts. King Kuei has already sent a letter of challenge to The Fire Prince under your name. Tonight you will spend at the palace. Don't expect much sleep though. I intend to teach you a few things before you go."

Toph nodded in understanding, " What's going to happen to my parents?"

" Dai Li have already been dispatched to your home. They will notify them. Would you like to see them before you go?"

Toph thought back to her mother's sobbing from earlier. She couldn't face her.

' _Maybe I am a coward.'_

" No."

King Bumi stood again, heaving dramatically as he did so, " These old bones aren't quite like they used to be."

Toph smirked, " They were fine during our fight."

King Kuei interjected, " Miss Bei-Fong, thank-you for doing this."

Toph stood as well, and shook her head, " Don't thank me. I'm not doing this for you, or for the world. I'm doing this to prove I can."

'_Though saving the world while doing so doesn't hurt.'_

King Bumi grinned toothily, his white tufts of hair standing out starkly against the green banner behind him, " And for ten copper coins!"


	6. Chapter 6

REVIEW.

* * *

><p>Toph stepped off the ferry and onto the dock. She was now officially in the fire nation. She was glad to be off the boat. Four days of seasickness and nausea were not something she exactly enjoyed. Though the days had been a valuable time to discuss Fire Nation customs, bending techniques, and to rest before her fight in between her sessions of vomiting overboard. She took her seasickness as an omen that her time in the Fire Nation wasn't going to go smoothly.<p>

Xin Fu patted her back delicately, " Feeling better?" He asked.

" Save your fake concern for when my parents are around. And I feel like shit." Toph growled.

Her parents had re-hired Xin Fu to watch over her when they learned that Toph was being sent over-seas. Though they thought she was being sent to an academy for blind girls, courtesy of King Kuei. Even so, she had to wonder how much money the king had bribed her father with to earn his consent.

Xin Fu had happily accepted the offer to protect her again as he was paid generously.

Toph wondered what her parents would do if they knew she was actually on a dangerous mission that was to take place from within the Fire Nation itself. Her mission was more than just marrying a prince, after all . . .

'_They'd blow a gasket, probably,'_ She thought to herself.

Toph took a few more steps onto the metallic dock. She could see better on metallic flooring than she could while on the boat when it was in the water, though it still wasn't the same as good old fashioned dirt or grass.

Merchants, immigrants and travellers bustled about the dock, whilst the sound of the ocean and the smell of seawater overwhelmed Toph's senses for a moment.

" You don't like water much, eh?" Zhang Yi asked conversationally. He'd been sent by King Kuei to protect her and report news to the Earth Kingdom until she was married, and was to escort her home if she lost the battle.

Toph nodded, " I can't see much when something is afloat. It's blurry."

Xin Fu hailed a lizard-drawn wagon for them to ride in.

"Can't we just walk?" Toph asked, feeling anxious for her up-coming battle. She'd never fought a Fire Bender before.

" Are you nervous? " Asked Haru. He had also been assigned by the King to escort Toph safely to the palace. He was a skilled young Earthbender, whose Earth Kingdom village was occupied by the Fire Nation. He'd fleed his village to come to Ba Sing Se after the Fire Nation soldiers there had discovered his bending talents and had intended to lock him up alongside his father. After coming to Ba Sing Se, he'd been recruited as a Dai Li soldier, and this was his first official mission. He and Toph had become well acquainted during the ferry ride.

Toph shook her head, allowing Haru to help her up and into the wagon. He'd explained to her earlier when he'd helped her on the ship that he did it not because he thought her weak, but because he considered himself a gentleman. His hands were cool and soft, and Toph blushed at the feeling. She'd never held a boys hand before, even for an instant—thanks to her overprotective upbringing.

Haru smiled at her as she sat down opposite him, Xin Fu taking note of but not commenting on her uncharacteristic behavior.

Haru was handsome, she could tell by the vibrations his body made when he moved. He had long hair, slanted eyes, a strong jaw, and full lips. He was of average height for an Earth Kingdom man, about 5'8'', though he was sixteen and still growing.

Toph wondered for a moment if he found her attractive too. She then scoffed at her own thoughts, _' It doesn't matter what he thinks. I know who I am. Looks are the last thing that matters to me.'_

They all rode in silence to the Fire Nations palace, not voicing their hopes that they would be able to get inside without much trouble, Toph fumbling with the golden sash that was tied around her hip.

In order to not get harassed for their nationality, the four had donned Fire Nation attire before their arrival whilst on the ferry. Toph wore a red tunic with matching red pants, that had gold embroidery, and the three men with her all wore red gi and pants of varying crimson.

Despite their disguises, anyone with half a brain would still be able to tell they were Earth Kingdom since they all had the trademark green eyes and calloused hands. This was why they'd taken a wagon to the palace, so as not to be disturbed by curious and offending Fire Nation peoples.

The Fire Nation Prince had accepted Toph's letter of challenge, which King Kuei had notified them of via messenger hawk while they were on the ferry, along with an attached letter from the prince.

They had all been surprised that he'd accepted her challenge without even a formal meeting. He mentioned in his letter that he didn't mind at all that she was an Earth Kingdom citizen because he loved Jasmine tea, which came from the Earth Kingdom. In fact, the majority of his letter had been about tea and Pai Sho.

Toph thought he sounded surprisingly nice and mature for his age, albeit weird.

The wagon came to a steady halt.

" We're here." Zhang Yi commented, exiting the wagon to discuss with the soldiers who were stationed at the palaces outer gates. They were wearing traditional Fire Nation soldier regalia: red and black armor with red loose long sleeved shirts and pants. The gate behind them was a mix of both steel and wood, with intricate carvings that displayed historical battles on it. Of course, it was only the battle's they'd won since it was just another way for them to show off their strength.

Toph could hear him arguing with them. " I have a letter granting us access to this palace from the prince himself. It has his royal seal."

"Probably a counterfeit. " One of the guards shrugged offhandedly.

Zhang Yi glared, "Do you know who sits in that wagon? Toph Bei-Fong of the Bei-Fong family. Do you know who they are?"

" Sure, I've heard of them. They're one of the richest families in the world. But they're also Earth Kingdom. And I can tell you are too from your eyes . . . Should we arrest them?" The guard turned to another and chuckled darkly.

"You'll do no such thing." A man emerged from above the gate, standing on top of it nonchalantly, " Not to one of my dearest nephews' ladies in waiting."

He was short and stocky, with a grey beard, a receding hairline and long grey hair.

His eyes were kind but stern, and there was a wide smile on his face. He wasn't as old as King Bumi, but he sounded equally mischievous.

The guards bowed to him, suggesting he was a man of some stature. " General Iroh, forgive our impudence."

The guards opened the gate, Zhang Yi smirking at them as he passed, the wagon teetering inside.

The old man hopped down from the gate, and peered in through the window of the carriage. He smiled at Haru, " You must be her! You do look like a strong young lady, but you're still a lovely flower."

Haru blushed and Xin Fu laughed, " The long hair and pretty face are bit misleading. But that kid's all male."

Haru gestured to Toph, who was on the other side of the wagon, " That's Toph."

Toph smiled awkwardly and Iroh stared at her for a moment before laughing, " Oh, of course! My name is Iroh. It's a pleasure."

" Toph. So when do I fight the prince?" She was blunt as usual.

Iroh chuckled, " Well, we can figure that out when I find him . . . "

Toph perked up in curiosity, " He's missing?"

Iroh nodded, " He likes to disappear and mope on occasion. Want to help me look for him?"

" You think I can help?" Toph asked, surprised. She thought he'd treat her as a weakling like everyone else did.

" Of course. You're strong, aren't you?" Iroh asked.

Toph nodded, " Yeah I am!"

Iroh opened the wagon door for her, and she bounced out of it. She liked this guy already. Maybe her experience within the Fire Nation wasn't going to be as bad as she'd been expecting.

* * *

><p>Zuko meandered about the palace gardens, which were different from the palaces courtyard, since it was outside the palace's inner wall, but of course still within the outer wall. The garden was also quite a bit larger than the courtyard, and had a vast, complex maze that stretched for about three miles. He was currently within said maze. Lost.<p>

How had he managed to put himself within said predicament?

Well, it all started when he had had the _grand_ idea to propose that any woman who could defeat him in a fight . . . you know the story.

And well, it had all been fine and dandy for him to hide out in his bedroom until he'd needed basic necessities like food and water. At night, he'd sneak out of his room to get said items and then go back inside. That is, until this morning, when he'd become over-confident in his "ninja-skills" and has traversed out of his bedroom whilst the sun was out.

It had been a grave tactical error on his part. He'd never be a strategist.

Various young ladies in waiting had been looking for him throughout the halls, and the moment he'd been spotted by one, she'd shouted, and all the girls had started to chase him. He had managed to lose them by jumping out a window and into the palace's outer gardens. And then he'd had the bright idea to go into the maze.

No one would find him here! And he would leave once night had fallen!

Well, it was evening already, and he still couldn't find his own damn way out of the maze. And it wasn't like he could just burn it down: it was made of ivy—he'd end up committing arson on his own damn palace—it would burn the entire garden to the ground.

Zuko hoped his previous assumption of no one being able to find him in the maze wasn't correct.

'Dammit. ' He thought to himself, kicking at a wall of leaves. 'What's the point of a maze anyway?'

Zuko sat down on the warm earth, his legs aching from his constant walking throughout the day. He rested his head against a bushel of leaves, ' People are looking for me . . . right?'

An hour passed, and Zuko began to claw at the Ivy in an attempt to climb it. The sun had set, and the lack of light had given the air an eerie coolness. The wind seemed to whisper when passing through the maze.

The prince shivered, and then smacked himself. He was too old to be afraid of the wind and the dark, dammit! Withdrawing his dual swords, he hacked at the ivy in front of him. Unfortunately, the thick walls of caked dirt and ivy were too thick, even for his swords. He sheathed them.

As he scraped his hand again on the Ivy beneath his fingertips, he gave up climbing the wall.

'What if I die here?' The thought occurred.

Another whisper seemed to be carried on the wind. Zuko questioned his own sanity as the noises intensified.

" My nephew . . . my nephew . . ." It seemed to say.

Zuko did wish his uncle were there to guide him, as always. Though he knew it was just the wind teasing him.

Another voice, this one louder, seemed to come from right behind him. Zuko stiffened.

" I've found you." It said.

He turned slowly to the speaker, a part of him terrified that it might be a ghost or a ghoul coming to haunt him in the night.

Before the young prince stood a younger girl. She was petite, and thin, and her skin seemed white as a lily's against the red crimson of her clothing. He looked at her face, and her eyes were silver in the moonlight. He'd never seen such eyes; Zuko couldn't help but think that she was beautiful. The moonlit eyes narrowed, then, releasing him from their spell and he looked around her, spotting his uncle.

"Uncle!" He cried, in relief, resisting rushing to the man childishly. Instead, he stood in place.

" Hello Zuko," Iroh replied.

" Zoo-ko?" The girl questioned, laughing, " Doesn't '-ko' go at the end of a girls name?"

Zuko suddenly thought she wasn't so beautiful. In fact, she was really short. A midget, one could say.

" Who are you?" The amber-eyed boy demanded.

" This is Toph. She has come to challenge you to a battle," His uncle interrupted.

Zuko sighed, and then crossed his arms. He'd gotten lost in the maze for nothing!

" No," He said, petulantly.

The girl placed a hand on her hip, " You said yes in your letter."

"Letter? What letter?"

His uncle coughed, " Well, actually, I wrote that letter. "

Zuko glared, " Uncle, don't go around impersonating me!"

If he knew his uncle, the man had made him sounds like some kind of tea drinking idiot. (which he did)

Iroh waved his hands in front of him peaceably, " Now, now, Zuko, I just thought the girl seemed like an interesting match for you. And since she came all the way here just to seek your hand in marriage, I think you owe her a fight."

The girl nodded, " Yeah, you owe me one. In fact, make that two, since I found you here. And only I know the way out. So if you don't fight me, well, I'll just leave you here."

"My uncle wouldn't let you!" Zuko argued.

"I can't stop this girl; she's determined. Also…she's the only one who knows the way out." His uncle interjected.

Zuko stiffened. He did not like the prospect of having to stay in the maze any longer. And who was this girl to know the maze's path?

" Fine. I accept your challenge. "

He moved into his warrior's stance, and the girl faced him nonchalantly. If she didn't know how to fight was she not a fool for challenging him in the first place?

He didn't want to make the first move, he knew that much, so the prince waited. The girl, who was clearly impatient, finally moved. The strange thing was that she had moved _away_ from him. How could she expect to attack him if he was out of her striking range? Unless she had weapons hidden? He drew his dual swords preparation.

The girl kicked at the earth beneath her, and the earth beneath him trembled, making it difficult to balance. He was confused now: was there a mild earthquake?

The girl then moved her hands in a circular motion, and a clump of earth lifted from her left side. She twisted her arms and flung it at him. He dodged, realizing it was her who was controlling the earth.

"You're an earth bender?" The boy squawked indignantly.

Toph nodded, " You couldn't tell?"

He noticed then that her moonlit eyes were a characteristic so foreign to him because she truly was a foreigner.  
>The earths trembling's had calmed considerably at this point, so he overcame his initial shock at her heritage and charged, slicing with the dull sides of his swords. Toph brought to fingers forward and he was met by thin wall of dirt, which he sliced through easily, managing to cut a few of her hairs. She slapped her hands together and a piece of the Ivy wall nearest him crumpled and created more space between the two fighters. He jumped over the mud hill at her as she sent a rainfall of the hardest rocks from the hill down on him, giving him small but numerous bruising's. Zuko ignored the sting of the dirt and ploughed through to where she stood, bringing the flat side of his sword to slap at her. The girl dropped to the ground, dodging, and swiped at his feet with her leg, which was covered in caked dirt, making her kick more powerful. He fell, but as she had been under him, he fell on top of her. Seizing his chance to subdue her, he held her arms in place. The girl, Toph, gasped at the contact, and he looked down into her face so that he could see her expression. She looked shocked, but her eyes didn't meet his, even as he lowered himself a bit to where he was at her level. Instead, she looked straight past him. But there was nothing behind him, he knew it, aside from the walls and the moon. It was then he realized, that her eyes were too green, even for an earth-bender.<p>

She was blind.

He was so shocked that he hadn't noticed two earthen rings wrapping over his ankles until the moved backwards swiftly and pulled him off of her, his swords had dropped when he'd fallen on her.

"Enough games." The girl said, standing. He yanked his legs, using considerable strength, out of the earthen rings and jumped upward onto one of the Ivy walls, gaining footing by digging his hand in a loose vine, though it felt rather shaky under his weight.

" Agreed." Zuko said, thrusting his fist forward. A ball of fire was sent in the girl's direction, she moving creating a block of hardened rock to counter it.

"You're a fire bender, too." The girl remarked. " I remember that."

He nodded. He figured that, as long as he was careful his fire didn't touch the ivy, just the earthen floor, he wouldn't create too huge a mess.

But she didn't need to know he wasn't willing to risk it all. " Everything here is flammable, you can't win."

The girl smiled,-she was no fool, "That's right. Everything here is flammable. _You _can't win."

With that, the earth-bender drew up her arms as if to flex them, then brought them down harshly, causing the part of the wall Zuko was on to crash into the wall vertical to it, squishing him between the ivy leaves.

" Start a fire and you're the one that'll burn." The girl teased.

Zuko cursed himself. And the moon! And the soft earth that was enclosing him. It stank of flowers; reeked with the stench of fresh dirt. Stupid earth-bending girl with her stupid moon-eyes and her stupid surprise-blindness and her stupid sneaky attacks!

Stupid uncle who was chuckling in glee to himself in a corner!

The girl then had the gall to say what she did next, " Guess we're getting hitched then, huh, Sparky?"

HITCHED? To HER? THE MIDGET? THE EARTH-BENDER? Zuko couldn't believe it. But it was true, he'd been beaten. He'd been at a disadvantage with the setting from the beginning.

AND _SPARKY? _WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?

He seethed from inside the dirt and ivy cocoon, steam leaking out. " I guess so." He barked. The earth around him loosened and he dropped gracefully to the ground, cursing it as he did so. He still held to a shred of hope that here had to be some way out of this, however.

"I'm the eye-witness!" His uncle exclaimed happily, as if to respond to the inner-workings of his nephews mind. Zuko cursed everthing: the times, the stars. But then: "Surely father will not allow me to marry an earth bender?"

It was, in this situation, his trump card.

Toph smirked, " I'm sure he'll make an exception for one of the wealthiest families in the world. I'm the daughter of the Bei-Fong family."

Zuko hung his head in defeat. It was true: his father would make an exception for them; the fire nation's army could always use extra funding –citizens were beginning to run dry.

Zuko clenched his fists, " There's no way I'm marrying you."

Toph laughed, "Oh, but there is. Now do you want to get out of this maze or what?"

His pride was taking one too many blows today, Zuko decided, as he followed her dejectedly out of the maze, his uncle in tow.

" How do you know the path?" The bearded man began, conversationally, to Toph.

She shrugged, " I can see it plain as day. It's a little complicated, but after dwelling on it it's easy enough. The vibrations coming from animals and bugs is enough to kinda light the way for me." She turned to Zuko helpfully, " I see with vibrations, in case you were wondering."

Zuko toned the chatting girl and his uncle out of his mind until the neared the maze's exit.

As they left the maze at last Zuko didn't feel relieved. How could he when his father stood, looking down on them, from the palace's tallest tower, his expression unidentifiable?

* * *

><p>TO BE CONTINUED.<p>

REVIEW.


	7. Chapter 7

*A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: So I'm sorry about the delay. I'll just say now that chapters will be scarce until summer, which is when there will be a steady flow. Since I'm an honor student in my senior year with a job, finding time for Fanfics has been pretty impossible -but Spring Break has given me time to write a chapter.

Enjoy!

P.S.: I'm considering making a few of the characters homosexual. And when/ if I do, I'm further considering writing those characters some, ehem, _explicit_ scenes. Thoughts?

* * *

><p>Traditionally in the Fire Nation, betrothals began with an elaborate proposal and acceptance. The parents of the two parties would make all arrangements. In the case of Prince Zuko, however, tradition was abandoned entirely. Such matters being trivial to a Fire Lord, the prince's father had given his uncle Iroh the responsibility of choosing a bride for his son.<p>

Iroh, being wise, gave Zuko the illusion of choice by letting the boy set a requirement. The requirement of finding a girl stronger than him was not so surprisingly easy.

And now Iroh served also as the chaperone and go-between for the two young'uns. The two would not be allowed to interact alone until the Fire Lord approved of their engagement. Some tradition had to be kept, after all.

To ensure the couples happiness, Iroh took it upon himself to be the messenger between the two. At the moment, he carried a message from Toph to Zuko.

Iroh entered the prince's room, calmly dodging a fireball as he did so.

" Good morning Zuko. It is a beautiful day, today. You should go outside, and spend less time moping here in your dark room."

" Go outside? What, so that I can be mocked by my sister, and harassed by curious servants? No thanks!" Zuko lay in his bed, hiding beneath his covers like a petulant child. Iroh sat beside the huddled lump and patted it affectionately, " Now, now, you'll need to be going outside soon enough. I've made a date for you and the Lady Toph, so that you can become more acquainted with one another. You're going to watch the sunset together, in the tower. Of course, I'll be chaperoning."

" I'm not going." The ball shrouded in covers became smaller as Zuko drew within himself, perhaps in a self-comforting mechanism.

" Well, I think it would be wise to come to understand Lady Toph, so that you can convince your father that you have fallen in love with her. "

The shrunken mass upon the bed tensed in interest, " Why would I need to do that?"

" So that he doesn't know that you are actually wedding her because you lost to her in battle. Your father is a bit old fashioned, so he thinks the wife should be weaker than the husband."

Zuko threw the covers from him-self, revealing his lean, toned, glowing upper-body, " I only lost because she manipulated the battle. I didn't want to set the palace gardens on fire! In any case, if it had been hand-to-hand combat, I would have won, no doubt."

Iroh stood, and began sifting through Zuko's wardrobe, probably to find appropriate clothes for his nephew to wear on the date. " Oh, no doubt indeed. But your father won't care about technicalities. "

Zuko stood from his bed and took the clothes his uncle handed to him, glaring at nothing in particular. "This sucks."

"Now, now. Your father simply gave you the incentive to go fall in love. Now, get dressed, and I'll take you to the court-yard, where perhaps you can begin on doing just that."

" I'm not wearing this."

" Alright. Oh, I almost forgot. I talked to Toph earlier, and she asked me to give you a message" Iroh cleared his throat, " How are you feeling?"

Zuko blinked, " What kind of a message is that? Couldn't she have asked me that in person—during our date or whatever it's supposed to be."

Iroh shrugged, " I suppose she wanted you to know she'd been thinking of you." Of course, that wasn't actually what Toph had asked—or meant. Iroh was glad Toph couldn't write. His nephew knew his handwriting. Spoken messages, however, could be changed with little difficulty. He could communicate the gist of the message, whilst taking away the majority of its bite. And Tophs messages were always biting. This one had been, "Are you still sore from our fight, princess?"

* * *

><p>Toph, Haru, Zhang Yi and Xin Fu all sat at a round table, which was adorned with an embroidered silk cloth of red and gold. The four had been given three rooms, one for Toph to sleep in, one for the men to sleep in, and a middle room for the group to congregate and eat in. It was the middle room that they were currently within.<p>

" We've all worked on collected news-papers and other documents involving information on the prince that we could find in local stores and libraries," said Xin Fu, who was calmly sipping green tea at the round table at which the earth kingdom crew sat. Haru nodded, opening a book he'd had placed in front of him, " It says here that a man of the name Piandao trained him in dual swordsmanship. His uncle has trained him in fire bending. Also, when he was about ten, his cousin, Lu Ten, the son of Iroh, died while away at war."

Zhang Yi poured Toph a cup of the green tea and offered it to her, "And lastly, his mother, Fire Lady Ursa, was banished for some crime she committed the night before Fire Lord Ozai's coronation. "

Toph slurped her tea indelicately, thumbing the embroidered tablecloth, " If any of you guys can find out what the crime was, I think it might be of some help with our mission here."

"Add smart to the list of Toph's good qualities, guys."

Toph was sipping her tea, now, " What else is on that list?"

" Strong, definitely. And funny. That prince is one lucky guy," Haru smiled in a friendly manner, his long, thick eyelashes batting innocently.

Toph blushed, " Not really. I've got smelly feet."

Both Xin Fu and Zhang Yi had to clench their jaws to keep from laughing. 'That girl doesn't know the first thing about wooing a man. This whole operation is going to be very, very interesting.'

Zhang Yi cleared his throat as Toph began to pick up her foot in order to further demonstrate her point that her feet were, in fact, smelly, " Lady Bei Fong, before your date with the prince today, I think it would be wise to put on something a bit more…becoming."

Toph lowered her foot, and Haru released his breath, which he'd been holding, " What do you mean?"

She looked up in his direction in honest curiosity, her hair falling messily around her eyes, her feet crusted in dirt.

Zhang Yi thought deeply for a moment of a kind way to say that she looked like shit.

Xin Fu, having had experience with Toph and her boyish behavior, said, " Your clothes are more appropriate for battle."

Toph shrugged, " They do say love is war."

Xin Fu nodded, " For this battle, your armor is all wrong. You would undoubtedly lose."

Toph stood, furrowing her brows, " Is that a challenge?"

Zhang Yi nodded furiously, " Yes. Yes. It is a challenge. Now, there are several lady attendants who are going to see to this matter for you. They will prepare you for uhh-for battle." He was catching onto Toph's personality, and would now manipulate her as best he could, in the same way Xin Fu did.

"Fine." Toph said, " I don't care, anyway."

With that, Haru ushered the three attendants Iroh had sent over for Toph inside. The three girls then whisked Toph into her room, politely sliding the door closed as the men sat in the room, ending their discussion and instead starting up a game of Mah Jong.

The girls began chatting idly, making sure Toph was comfortable as they began their ministrations: massaging Toph's scalp, hands, and back—none of them touched her feet. " Are you relaxed?" One of the girls asked, her voice soft and full of breath.

" Sure." Toph responded gruffly.

" I'm going to prepare your bath, alright?" The girl who had been messaging her scalp said, moving to the corner of Toph's temporary room, where a large pot was placed.

The girl massaging her hands smiled, " So what brings you to the fire nation?"

Toph tensed, ' They don't know why I'm here?' Toph chuckled unnaturally, and hoped they hadn't noticed, saying, " Business. My parents couldn't come, so I did."

" Wow. What kind of business does your family do, if you don't mind my asking?"

" Trade. Different kinds. Mostly in opium, actually." Toph chuckled. She still found it ironic her uptight parents were basically nothing but high-class drug traffickers.

" You wouldn't happen to be a Bei Fong, would you?" The girl asked moving her ministrations to Toph's wrists.

" Bingo." Toph said, allowing the girls to strip her of her clothing and usher her into the bath, in which they poured smelling salts, soaps, perfumes, and many other strange and unnecessary things.

Toph always felt uneasy when immersed in water, but took comfort in the fact that the pot she currently bathed in was earthen. After too much scrubbing and fussing, Toph stood from the bath, the cool air caressing her clean body. "So what's your name?" The talkative girl asked, helping Toph into a silken robe, and sitting her down into a chair. " Toph. Like 'tough.'" Toph said, wincing as the other two girls began combing the knots out of her long hair.

" How wonderful. My name's Song Yi." The bells in the girls hair rang clearly as she moved, and Toph could sense the amicable smile on her face.

Because Toph found the massage and bath relaxing, she allowed the following events: hairstyling, make-up, nails. She even allowed the girls to dress her in a kimono her mother had packed. It was made of silk and colored pink, with a white cherry blossom pattern, and her obi was a sea-foam green, matching her eyes. Her hair was down, and adorned with a porcelain cherry blossom clip, which kept her bangs to the side, and mostly out of her eyes, which were, as Song Yi proclaimed excitedly, " Her best feature." Toph couldn't help but find that fact a little ironic, as they were probably the most useless part of her body, as they did not function.

Finally, when it was all over, Toph stepped out, her feet still bare. She had not allowed her precious walking appendages to be touched, aside from having her toenails clipped, which alone had taken much convincing.

The door to the middle room slid open. The men, basking in their game of Mah Jong, didn't notice the sound. Toph walked past them casually, mostly unaware of her new appearance, "Lets get going then, chumps."

There was a silence in the room. Song Yi giggled excitedly along with the other two maids, waiting for the male's reaction.

" Are one of you guys going to escort me to the meeting place or what? I mean, normally I'd go by myself, but seeing as I don't know where exactly the 'Tower' is—

"WOW!"

"And I obviously can't read signs—what?"

Haru jumped foreword, " I'll take you."

Zhang Yi pushed the smaller boy to the side, " No, I will."

Toph rolled her eyes, " Make up your minds, people, I don't have all day."

Xin Fu interrupted, " Let Haru take her." Zhang Yi looked as though he were about to argue, but stopped when Xin Fu gave him a steady look, as if to say, ' Trust me.'

The handsome pair left then, Haru offering Toph his arm, and she ignoring it as they did so.

Once the maids had left also, Zhang Yi turned to Xin Fu, " Why couldn't I take her?"

Xin Fu sat down at the round table, and took out a pipe, lighting it, " At times like this, when a girl looks her prettiest, but a boy is still unsure of marriage, it is best to convince him that she is well sought after. His ego might become involved as well. No one wants a person who's too available, after all."

"So why is Haru the guy who's supposed to make the Fire Prince jealous or competitive or whatever?"

Xin Fu exhaled, a cloud of smoke following his breath," Because he's the good looking one."

Zhang Yi's eyebrow twitched, " What are you trying to say?"

" No offense."

After walking for a good, long while, Toph and Haru arrived at the top of the tower. Toph could sense the prince's presence in the center of the room that was there. He was sitting at a small, round table, atop of which sat an array of fruits and cheeses. He did not turn to look at them upon their arrival, even as Iroh stood to greet them, saying " Oh, you look lovely. Both of you do."

Haru's smile twitched 'Does this old man keep forgetting I'm a guy?'

" Well I'll come by for you after sunset, Toph, unless told otherwise. Have a good time."

He patted her on the back, but then, as she moved to walk away, gently grabbed her arm and pulled her into a brief hug, whispering, " Add beautiful to the list, too."

Zuko had heard the last comment Haru had made as he left, and could hear the strength in the boy's steps as he'd entered and left as well. His hearing abilities were quite acute, as were his other senses, which were currently becoming aroused by Toph's presence. Her feet padded silently on the ground, which was strange. She also smelt of white lilies—something he hadn't noticed before. He refused to allow himself to succumb to curiosity, however, and did not turn to greet her, even as she sat down opposite him at the round table.

" What's with the attitude, Sparkles?" Toph asked, popping a cube of cheese into her mouth. Zuko balked at her impudence. Had she no manners? First, she insulted him with the ridiculous moniker, "Sparkles," and then began to eat before he had? No fire nation girl would have ever done such a thing, even his sister. She would have insulted him, sure, but eat before him? Never! It was the most basic of etiquette for a woman to begin eating _after_ the man had, and Zuko hadn't so much as _touched_ a grape!

" Hey, this is some good cheese. Congrats to whoever cooked it, seriously," Toph took another cube, popping it into her mouth. She then grabbed the loaf of bread that sat on the table, using both her hands, and bit into it. Zuko couldn't believe it. She hadn't cut the bread with the knife, or even taken so much trouble as to tear it with her hands—no! She had picked up the entire loaf, and had begun to eat it just like that. Even dipping it occasionally into the bowl of jam that sat there. Finally, just as she was about to mix the jam with the butter by ramming the loaf into the different bowls, Zuko turned to her to yell, but had his breath stolen from him.

Before him sat a girl, the likes of which he'd never before encountered. She glowed, almost literally, in the heat and light of the dimming sun, her eyes glittering and deep, endless, and enthralling.

His mouth opened and closed dumbly after a few instances, leaving Toph to wonder what had stricken him so. Perhaps he was angry with her for eating so much?

"Sorry," she said, leaning back in her chair.

"What?" He asked, still dumbfounded- was this truly the girl he'd fought before? He took the moment to examine the rest of her; her dark brown tresses, milky skin, and round, pink lips—which looked so juicy, so ripe—

" I ate all the cheese." He blinked.

" Hope I'm not blocked up later, y'know? Ha ha ha!"

Yes, this was definitely the same beast he'd encountered before. Only in 'sheep's clothing,' this time (or, a silken kimono, to be precise.)

Iroh, in the back-ground, face palmed. The point of the date was so that the two would become comfortable with one another before they met with Fire Lord Ozai. Iroh would then be able to convince his brother of Zuko and Toph's everlasting love, Ozai would approve of their marriage, Zuko would not be banished from the Fire Nation, and all would be fine and well.

Well, that had been the plan.

As Iroh watched the two engage in a spitting contest, he wondered if there was any hope for either of them. At all.

Unexpectedly, the two teenagers high fived as they hocked their spit onto a poor, unsuspecting bird that had been preying on a mouse in a level below.

Toph laughed, " Hey, you're not too bad at this, princess."

" It's Zuko, and I guess your not 'too bad' at this, either."

Toph gripped the balcony, and leaned over it, feeling the wind on her face, " Considering I can't see the bird, I'd say it's more like 'too good.'"

" No humility at all. You really aren't like any Fire Nation girl I've ever met."

Toph sat back down at the table, popping a grape into her mouth, " Is that good or bad?"

Zuko joined her, " Honestly, I'm not sure. I find it both appalling and refreshing."

" Aw, thanks princess. Right back at you."

Zuko tensed, " What's appalling about me?" His hands gripped the corner of the table, " Are you talking about my face?"

Toph chuckled. Zuko stood, ready to leave, " Princess, I'm blind, remember?"

Toph remembered King Bumi telling her of the reason the prince had become 'interested' in marriage. After a violent Agni Kai that had resulted in the marring of an eye, his father had ordered him to wed. She figured the topic of his face was a touchy subject, so it was the one thing she mentally told herself not to tease him about.

" Oh, right," Zuko remained standing, and looked out the balcony at the sunset. Day met with night, the horizon burning bright yellow and orange, fading into a deep underwater blue, stars gleaming out of shrouding clouds, a crescent alabaster moon shining proud at the very tip-top of the sky. "…Sorry."

"Whatever. You haven't eaten yet, have some cheese."

Zuko sat back down and huffed, " You're the guest, don't offer my food to me. As the daughter of one of the worlds wealthiest families, how did you skip learning etiquette?"

Toph poured herself a cup of tea, " I know how to be proper. I simply choose not to. It's not like your observing propriety right now, either."

" Perhaps not, but—"

"Stop being so uptight. Gosh, this is boring. Who had the bright idea for a blind girl to 'watch the sunset' anyway?"

Zuko turned to his uncle, who stood in the back, " He did."

Iroh scratched his head in embarrassment, " Oops! Perhaps we should transition to a stroll in the palace courtyard, then? Or we can give Ms. Bei Fong a tour of the inner palace?"

" I want to walk the city!" The girl declared.

Zuko gave her a curious look, " You do?"

" Well, in that case, you can take her, Zuko. Have fun!" Iroh turned, leaving.

" Don't we need you to chaperone, uncle?" Zuko asked, standing with Toph.

" Palace customs need only be held within the palace. Outside the palace, there's no need for graces such as these. I trust you both. There's also something I need to do right now. Have fun!" And with that, Iroh was gone.

Zuko and Toph watched him leave, and then turned to each other.

'Actually, I love walking the city streets at night,' Zuko thought.

" I guess I'll take off my royal regalia. I don't want to be recognized." He took off the golden arm cuffs, rings, and the sashes he'd had around his waist and chest. He then rolled up his sleeves, to give himself a less formal appearance.

" We'll just look like the kids of a general like this."

" You've done this before," Toph said.

" Yeah. I mean, I'm not supposed to leave the palace, so we'll have to be stealthy with this. Actually, you should get onto my back."

Toph complied, but only because Xin Fu had advised her to 'take all chances to touch him innocently.'

As her arms wrapped around his neck, he stepped up onto the ledge of the balcony, the scent of white lilies breaching his senses.

And then he leapt, out and into the night.

* * *

><p>REVIEW. Please? Possibly more chapters soon, but definitely more in the summer!<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: It's summer, and as promised, you get another chapter! YAY. For those of you who waited, I hope you enjoy this. For those of you who are new to the story, well, I hope you enjoy it too, of course! ;)

Warning: This chapter contains sex.

* * *

><p>At night, the outer walls of the palace glowed with the light of torches. Restaurants, bars, brothels and casinos bustled with activities. Crickets chirped, fire crackled, and laughter, as well as soft moans could be heard coming from the differing establishments. War propaganda was hung from flags on the walls of shops. Pictures of inhuman creatures dressed in water-tribe and earth-nation garb were depicted. Of course, Toph could not see the images, for which Zuko was glad. Toph's senses were a bit spotted at the moment, with many of the shops being made of wood and metal. Still, she could sense most of what was occurring in the area, as the ground remained earthen in the majority of the shops.<p>

To the Fire Nation folk who passed them, the girl looked a bit strange with her green eyes. Still, her pale skin helped deflect suspicion, as most Fire Nation people were of a lighter complexion themselves. Furthermore, the fact her kimono was pink, which was a Fire Nation color meant she didn't attract too much attention.

Through her feet, Toph could feel the people dancing, singing, eating, and fucking. She could smell the roasted peppercorns, onions, and noodles at a stand as she passed it.

She could even almost taste Zuko's excitement as he walked beside her.

After a considerable silence, Toph asked, " Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live as they do?"

Zuko looked away from the curvaceous prostitute who'd been blowing kisses in his direction, " Huh? Oh. Sometimes."

Toph, " I mean, sure there'd be less to eat, fewer toys, and maybe your clothes would be uncomfortable –but so what? You'd actually have a little freedom."

Zuko nodded, " Yeah."

He watched a father and son walking ahead of them. The little boy, who must have been about five years old, was clearly growing weary, struggling to keep up with his father, who was growing distant from him with each stride. The man turned, realizing he was getting ahead of his son, and smiled, stopped, and scooped the boy up and into his arms, then over his head, allowing the boy to sit across his shoulders. They laughed together, turned a corner, and Zuko lost sight of them.

The prince sighed, " Yeah, I think things would be a lot different."

Ever observant, Toph noted the way Zuko had paused during the father-son exchange.

So, throwing caution to the wind, she asked, " Are you angry?"

Toph paused as they passed a park, and then gestured for Zuko to follow her as she entered it. She might need an elemental advantage considering the subject she was about to bring up. And there was plenty of earth in a park.

"What?" He walked somewhat behind her, then sat next to her on a bench which was somewhat hidden by a blossoming cherry tree. The bench overlooked a pond and fountain, which shone in the light of the moon.

" With your father."

Zuko scowled, " Don't talk about my father. You don't know anything."

Her eyes rolled, " That's why I'm asking."

Becoming defensive, the boy turned away from her, " It's not like you have the right to."

Absentmindedly, Toph picked a cherry blossom from the tree and examined it in her palm, running her fingers over it, " Sure I do. We're getting hitched. So spill."

In a fit of rage, Zuko snatched the flower from her hands, burnt it in his palm, and threw its ashes to the ground. He'd had enough of the infuriating girl who always knew what to say.

" You and I are NOT getting hitched!"

Toph picked another flower, laughed at his antics, " Has anyone ever told you that denial is not, in fact, a good look on you?"

Zuko stood, " My father has to approve of our marriage before the engagement becomes official." He could feel his body gaining heat with his ire.

"Soooo?"

" He would never approve of a girl like you. A girl so …so-

"Awesome?"

" Rude!"

Toph shrugged, " If I'm rude, I'm sure he and I will get along just fine."

Zuko huffed, " How does that even make any sense?"

" Your dad freakin' fried your face. That's pretty rude."

Zuko barely contained himself at the comment, " I'm not dealing with this." He began walking away from her, shaking the trees' outstretched branches as he batted them out of his way; causing pink flowers do embroider the cool ground.

Toph chased after him, " Hey, we had a moment, earlier, when we were talking about freedom. Let's go back to that."

Zuko kept walking, exiting the park and re-entering the bustling street, " Yeah, well, you ruined it."

The girl sped up to match his hastened pace, " Look, I know your dad and your face are sensitive subjects, but I'm just trying to get closer to you."

Zuko stopped, and she almost ran into him, " And I don't want you anywhere near me!"

She stepped closer, and he recoiled.

" I was civil when my uncle was around for his benefit, but the truth is that I …" He struggled for the right words as he stared down into her small face. He felt a little like a bully, talking down to a girl so tiny and cute. Still, she was terribly obnoxious, and in his opinion, someone needed to tell her off.

" …Really dislike you!"

The earth-nation girl scoffed, and began walking again, passing him. While her face didn't show it, the movement expressed her hurt at the comment, " Oh really?"

He nodded, now following her in a role reversal, " Oh yes. In fact, I've only been so civil all this time for my uncle's sake. But the truth is, you drive me crazy!"

She wiggled her eye- brows, " Crazy in love."

"NO!" He grabbed her shoulder, stopped her, and attempted to stare directly into her eyes to better convey him self. Of course, he could not, for her eyes stared blankly into nothing.

Toph smiled, remembering Xin Fu's advice, " Well, you might not like me _yet_, but I already like you."

Immediately she could sense that she'd dampened his anger, since the burning heat of his hand, which was upon her shoulder, decreased to warmth.

" N-no, you don't! Y-you're just saying that." He flushed pink and searched her face suspiciously.

Toph turned away from the stare, and neither of them knew if it was because she was being coy, or if it was because she was lying.

Zuko slid his hand down from her shoulder and to her wrist, dragging her along beside him, " Whatever, let's just go back."

* * *

><p>Once back inside the palace, a grim looking Iroh greeted them.<p>

"Welcome back." He tried to smile, but failed.

Zuko let go of Toph's wrist, unaware he'd held it during their entire journey back into the palace, his hand encircling the joint even in front of the payed-off guars that knew of his common outings.

" What's wrong?" He asked, concerned.

Toph, whom also hadn't noticed his hand around her wrist until the very moment he let her go, guessed, " Fire Lord Ozai is ready to see me, isn't he?"

" He's ready to see the both of you."

Zuko's heart stilled. He had not seen his father since the Agni Kai. It had been Iroh who'd finagled the promise of marriage and another heir to protect Zuko from his father's wrath, and Zuko had not been present for the meeting.

Zuko adjusted his shirt, and ran a hand through his hair, " Now?"

Iroh nodded, " Yes, in the main hall. I'll walk with you."

The three walked together noiselessly, passing servants, fire, and stone. Song Yi smiled at Toph as she passed, and didn't have the nerve to look at Zuko after she'd attempted to poison him.

The prince noticed his sister in a corridor, talking to Ty Lee. He didn't have time to wonder about the way the princess stroked her friends face, only recognizing her hateful glare in his direction as he passed.

Toph wiped the sweat of her hands into her dress, rubbing her lips together to prevent them from drying.

" We're almost there." Iroh commented. He then looked around, and as they were alone, said, " While your father may have caught wind of it, the fact that you lost to Toph in battle should remain a secret. It would be in both your best interest if this was the case."

They approached the door to the hall, " So what's our story then?" The green-eyed girl asked.

" Rather than you competing in a fighting contest, you competed in a beauty contest." Iroh explained.

Toph chuckled, "Funny, that's the same lie I used on my mother."

Zuko watched the exchange, too nervous about seeing his father to speak.

" Yes. Amongst the eligible beauties of the nations who won the differing contests, Zuko chose you as his bride after meeting you."

Snapping out of his reverie, Zuko placed a hand on his hip, " Why would I choose her?"

Iroh smiled, opened the door, and pushed them inside, " You know why."

The door closed.

Zuko blinked in confusion, staring at the door. No, he did not know why he would ever want to marry a girl as insufferable as Toph Bei Fong.

He returned to reality, _terrible_ reality, at the sound of his fathers' voice, " So this is the girl you've chosen to be your wife."

The prince turned, slowly, painfully, to the man who never raised him.

Ozai sat upon his golden throne, looking at the couple across the gleaming hall from him. The hall was minimally decorated. It lacked long tables, as it was never used for feasts or celebrations, so it seemed almost empty aside from the red carpets and flags strewn carefully about. It seemed the hall was used mainly for sentencing. The faint stench of death suggested it was perhaps even used for executions.

Toph bowed to the king, " Your majesty." Her dark hair framed her pale face as she did so, gracing the floor due to its length.

"Stand," The lord commanded, examining her as she did so, " You are from the Earth Kingdom, are you not?"

Zuko looked back and forth between the two.

" I am, Your Majesty."

Ozai chuckled, " Let us drop the frivolities. No need for the titles with every word you speak, girl."

Toph bowed her head in acknowledgment. Zuko watched in astonishment. So she did know her manners.

"So, son, what brought the two of you together?" Ozai asked. Zuko attempted to speak without his nerves leaking into his voice. It was the first time his father had addressed him in months.

Remarkably, he remembered to lie, " A beauty contest. She won in her district, and out of the other eligible women, I chose her."

Ozai's eyes narrowed, " As an earth-kingdom girl, how can she be eligible?"

Zuko cleared his throat, " Well, as a Bei Fong, she is of one of the world's wealthiest families. I thought we could use her families' money to fund our war machine research, and our fleets, amongst other things."

The lies one could tell under such duress were impressive, indeed.

Appeased by Zuko's answer, the king turned his attention back to Toph, " And what inspired you to desire my sons hand?"

Everything was riding on this answer, she knew. One misstep could land her in fire. Literally.

She knew her answer would either please the king, or anger him, for with Ozai, there was no middle ground.

She spoke, " Power."

Ozai's smirked, " Elaborate."

The bread and cheese she'd earlier consumed churned in her belly.

Toph gestured about herself, " The Fire Nation is the greatest in the world. Because of this, it conquers all the rest . . . How shall I put this? - I want to play for the winning team." Toph continued, " That was what inspired me to compete for your sons approval for betrothal. After actually meeting him, I admired his strength, and am now quite fond of him for it."

Ozai stood from his throne, clapping as he did so, " Quite a speech. It seems a bit insincere, though."

Toph shook her head, resisting the temptation to run, " I meant every word."

The king continued, " Perhaps you've been rehearsing it with someone. What to say, what to do, how to please me, you've been practicing these things, haven't you? "

The girl knew the King was insinuating that she was a spy or assassin.

Toph agreed, " Of course," his brow quirked dangerously, and she pressed on, " but only so that I may express myself clearly."

The King's face relaxed again, and as he approached her, Zuko stepped out of his way as his father came to a stop in front of the girl.

" And you've been practicing how to please my son, too, then?"

Toph stilled at the scent of blood, which the king reeked with. It reminded her of Gaoling, the burning, the screaming. She immediately pushed the thoughts away. " I've been learning more about your great nation's customs, and of the prince's hobbies."

Ozai reached out to her, his menacing fingers clenching around the neck of her kimono. He tugged a bit, loosening it, " I meant sexually."

Zuko stared at his father in horror as the man moved to cup Toph's breast, which was still covered by her white negligee.

She stopped breathing entirely as the man squeezed lightly, " So this is the type of body my son enjoys. Funny, I expected something more similar to his mother."

Zuko somehow found his voice, " This is the girl for me."

He knew he was treading dangerous territory, so he did not voice his true feelings of newfound disgust in his father.

Ozai removed his hand from the immobile girl, " Well, you needn't worry, I wont soil her with my touch."

Zuko calmed somewhat, until his father said, " Still, I'm interested in what you see in her aside from her wealth." He moved his hand to Toph's obi now, and untied it, causing her kimono to fall around her ankles.

Toph knew that if she spoke, she would curse the man, so she said nothing.

Zuko stepped forward now, carefully, " It was more than her physique that drew me to her. I have fallen for her wiles: her skill in conversation and… her strength of character."

Ozai stepped away from the two, clearly repulsed by Zuko as he picked up Tophs kimono and draped it around her shoulders. The act of pity was, to the King, a sign of weakness.

" Well, you can't marry a girl without knowing how she may please you. In fact, you wont know she's dedicated to this engagement until she gives you such."

Toph spoke, unbroken by the kings' molestation, " Is that not against tradition?"

Ozai shrugged, and then turned, walking back to his throne, " My word overrides propriety. I do not want my son to make the same mistake I did; marrying a woman unable to meet my desire and having to take on a courtesan. Such is a weary endeavor."

Zuko blushed, " So you're saying we must consummate the marriage before the marriage itself?"

Ozai situated himself on his high seat, " I'm saying you test a product before you buy it, or however the saying goes. If she pleases you tonight, your betrothal will gain my approval."

The young pair beheld each other in shock.

" I'll require evidence of the nights activities, of course. I'll have a guard stand at the door, and perhaps require him to retrieve your bed sheet once you've finished. Then you can tell him, Zuko, if her love is satisfying, and he'll rely the message to me."

The words sunk in further with each breath they took, " That is all. You may go now. Pho Shang will be the one to take care of it. " A guard who'd been standing behind the throne, concealed by it, appeared. " Yes, your Majesty."

He beckoned for the two to follow him. As they left the hall, Iroh met them outside the door. He'd waited for them. Zuko shook his head at his uncle's questioning stare.

Pho Shang led them at last to Zuko's chambers. "I'll remain outside to provide you enough privacy."

Toph opened the door without asking, strolled inside, and removed her kimono from her shoulders, letting it slip down and onto the ground.  
>" I can sense a lot of windows. Should we cover them?" She asked, her tone conversational.<p>

Zuko gave her a look, " Why are you acting like everything is fine?"

She walked to the largest window, crawling over the bed as she did so, " What do you mean? Everything is fine."

He knew she was lying. His father had just felt her up, there was no way 'everything was fine.' And aside from that, they were going to have to consummate the marriage…before the marriage.

She drew the curtains shut. The window actually overlooked the night sky, but from a certain angle the guards at the opposite tower would have been able to peer through, so covering them was in fact a good idea.

She crawled back over the large bed and stood on the cold ground once she was finished, awaiting his next move.

He stood in front of her, shifting from side to side. " We don't have to do this."

Toph did her best to appear seductive, but she looked more afraid than anything, " What if I want to?"

He smiled, ran a hand through his hair, " I doubt that."

Toph stepped closer to him, placed a firm hand on his arm, " Either we do this, or you face a consequence way worse then marriage. Think about that."

He crossed her arms, and then uncrossed them, " So how are we doing this?"

Toph turned a bit to her side, " Well, that's the bed." She gestured to it.

" Right." He agreed, stepping closer to her, giving into his curiosity. He wanted to know what it would feel like to truly hold a woman. He'd only had one girlfriend previously, Mai, and they had only kissed. Now he was going to go all the way.

Toph placed a hand on his muscular chest, and stood on her tiptoes, attempting to kiss him. He acquiesced to the silent request, grabbing her shoulders. Their lips met, the kiss was chaste, and Zuko could feel his back straining as he bent low to accommodate her petite stature.

Toph broke away, and sat on the bed, " You're too tall. Let's kiss sitting down."

Zuko nodded, pushing her down into the bed, and getting on top of her, his left hand moving to her breast in the process.

Toph arched into the touch, moaning slightly into the kiss.

Toph lightly gripped his shoulder, unsure of what to do. Zuko could feel himself hardening against his garbs, and began panting slightly.

He moved his hands down to her legs, and spread them apart. Toph further opened herself for him, wrapping her legs around him. She rolled her hips, grinding against his rigid length. Zuko gasped at the sensation, kissing her neck and rocking back and forth against her. Toph moaned as his clothed erection slid against her clitoris.

" Yes, that." She said, nodding, eyes slipping closed as the sensation overwhelmed her. Zuko continued to rub against the sensitive area, and as he did so he moved his lips lower to her breast, and began sucking at her plump, pink nipple. Toph moaned loudly and ran her fingers through his dark hair, gripping it and letting go repeatedly. Encouraged, Zuko bit down.

" Ow." Toph responded, frowning down at her partner. Zuko smiled sheepishly, "Sorry."

Toph rolled her eyes and sat up.

Zuko leaned back, concerned, " Did I really hurt you?"

Toph smirked, "I'm just getting naked, now. Mind doing the same?"

Zuko nodded, apprehension washing over him as the reality of the situation sunk in along with the separation of their bodies. This was really happening. He was going to have sex with Toph Bei Fong. As her negligee slid down around her ankles, followed unceremoniously by her white lace panties, he found that he didn't mind the prospect at all.

" Take it off." She demanded, gesturing to his still clothed form, " Don't be self conscious, I can't see anything, remember?" She chided as he began to slowly remove his ceremonial attire. Once he was entirely in the buff, he sat back down on the bed, and looked up at Toph in all her glory. She stood there, standing confidently, as always, almost as if she were unaware of her own current state of undress.

While Zuko did his best not to show it visually, Toph could sense his anxiety through the pounding of his heart. She was glad that she was the only one who could do such a thing, though, since if he could hear her now, he'd probably think she was going to die from the absurdly rapid thumping.

He reached out, pulling her to him, next to him, on the bed. He grasped her round buttock in his calloused hand and squeezed, reveling in her feminine form. Toph meanwhile slipped her small hand down from his forearm to his stiff cock, rubbing her hand over it, and grasped his balls lightly. Zuko moaned at the action, but, worried he'd come too soon, pinned her arms to her side. Toph quirked a brow, but was undeniably excited at the action, and blushed at the feeling of moisture gathering between her legs.

Zuko smiled down at her, and kissed the unmarked side of her neck. As he moved down to her collarbone, he freed her arm from his grasp and began penetrating her with his finger.

Toph relaxed as she decided the feeling of being penetrated wasn't too uncomfortable. As Zuko's finger slid in and out, Toph clenched the sheets beneath her, gyrating her hips.

Zuko gripped his penis in his hand, and guided it to Toph's entrance. He removed his finger, and then rubbed his cock against her opening and then penetrated her. Toph whimpered slightly at the burning and tearing sensation. Zuko continued thrusting slightly, "Does it hurt?" He asked.

Toph grimaced, " Uh, a little bit, yeah. Go slow."

Zuko nodded at the suggestion, but found it extremely difficult to comply. She was tight and hot and wet and panting, and it was too good.

Finally, after an agonizing moment, Toph gripped Zuko's ass, driving him deeper inside her. Zuko took the hint, thrusting harder and faster into her snug orifice. Toph moved her hand to cover her head as his violent movements rocked her against the bedpost.

Admittedly, Toph liked it rough, she was a hard-hitting gal, but for the first time, this was a bit…

"Oh! There!" Toph practically yelled as Zuko turned her to her side and fucked her with her right leg swung over his hip and the other slightly pinned beneath him. He gripped her shoulder and gave it to her, ramming into her at a maddening pace. Truth be told, a part of him was punishing her for trying to marry him when he wasn't ready for commitment. The other part of him was simply blazing with desire, and as he could feel his climax reaching, he flipped her over onto her stomach, and then lifted her hips. Sitting behind her, he marveled at the white perfection of her back, then placed his hand against it, forcing her to arch, and giving him a great view of her fleshy bottom. The sight of the proud girl bent over, ready to take his cock from behind sent further blood south. He clenched the base of his cock with his hand, not wanting to orgasm just yet.

' He better not put anything in my butt.' Toph thought, ready to earth-bend him all the way down into hell if he did.

Zuko slid his cock back into Toph's wet hole, and was awed by his ability to savagely impale her onto himself in the position, gripping her hips to the point of bruising.

Toph moaned repeatedly with each unyielding advance, stunned at the strange thrilling emotion building within her. Unable to articulate her need in her current state, she thrust back against him with her hips in equal fervor. The feeling of being filled to her limit by his thick rod, as his balls slapped against her caused her to arch more, taking him in his entirety. Soon, Toph could feel her walls clenching around him, and her entire body shook and tingled with the sensation of her orgasm. Zuko continued to thrust into her tight heat, moaning as her body constricted and coiled ever further around him, milking his erection inside of her.

Fire crackled against the sound of their heavy breathing and the slaps of their bodies as they made impact with each slam of their hips.

Zuko's breathing hitched, and he pulled out swiftly, coming onto the sheet, leaving the evidence his father had requested.

Toph got up, silently, and helped him remove the cloth from the bed. Zuko waited until the girl was back into her negligee before opening the door, where Pho Shang stood.

The guard glanced Toph over, who was now sitting at the edge of the bed, picking at her toes in a façade of indifference. Narrowing the door, Zuko blocked the girl from the mans sight and handed him the sheet, " Your evidence."

Pho Shang took the fabric, and sniffed it, " Satisfactory?"

Zuko noticed the small droplets of blood on the sheet in Pho Shangs hand.

His answer would change his life, he knew. He looked back at the pale form that now lay in the bed, staring blankly into nothing.

He didn't want to spend the rest of his life with her. He barely knew her. But he was a man of honor, and such men did not deflower maidens unnecessarily.

" I'll marry her."

Toph drew a cover over herself, concealing her triumphant grin.

" Now leave, Pho Shang." Zuko closed the door, turned to the mass of covers on the bed, which Toph lay beneath.

" Are you alright?" He sat awkwardly next to the concealed girl, and slightly shifted a cover so he could see her face, only to find another cover. She'd layered them.

Toph adjusted herself in her cocoon, trying to get comfortable.

" I'm fine. Night, Sparky."

Oddly comforted that she was still using her absurd nickname for him, Zuko placed a blanket over his own damp body. He settled in beside her, said, "Goodnight", and then promptly fell asleep.

Beside him, beneath all the covers, his new fiancée plotted the destruction of a nation and its King.

* * *

><p>AN: What have I just written? Ha, ha. Well, I hope the (first I have ever written) lemon made up for the months I've been away from writing Fan Fiction. I know it was a little awkward, but I didn't want to romanticize the sex since they don't love each other (yet?). Anyways, look forward to more chapters. And review. I really do listen to what you have to say. You may not know it, but when you ask questions/leave comments, it inspires my writing, so keep at it!


	9. Chapter 9

So, first of all, let me say i'm sorry it took two months for me to update. Life's crazy. But on another note, it's great to know what people are enjoying in this story (reviews). When you tell me what you like, I try to implement more of it into the story (well, as long as it fits with my overall idea for it). Because I just might be a review whore. So keep reviewing, and I'll be sure to pump out the chapters as fast as I can. I adore you all! Enjoy. (P.S. There's lesbian sex/harassment in this chapter. I warned you guys of homo sex prior so. If that offends you or something, don't read that part.)

* * *

><p>Xin Fu allowed Toph to disrobe in private, and to shower. When she reappeared in her regular pajamas; a simple brown shirt and green shorts, he handed her a murky brew, and ordered her to drink it. She recognized it. He'd been ordering her to drink it since before they'd arrived in the Fire Nation. It would prevent her from ovulating, or bearing any of Zuko's children. For if she bore his children, her maternal instincts would cause her to wish to protect her children at any cost, rather than protect the interest of the Earth Kingdom. Well, that was the argument they'd used to convince her to drink the gag inducing, fish-scented liquid.<p>

When she'd returned to their quarters that evening, unusually silent and covered in the stench of copulation, Xin Fu had quietly ushered her inside.

He'd looked her twice over, " What happened?" When she explained the night's events, not censoring a single detail, he was silent. Then after a moment, he said, " Let me awake Zhang Yi. He'll have to write this all down."

Once Zhang Yi had been awoken, and had finished writing everything for King Bumi and King Kuei to look over, he said, " Should I notify your parents of the betrothal as well? That way they wont be surprised when they start receiving the customary groom's gifts."

Xin Fu nodded, " Yes. Inform them of the engagement. It's time they were enlightened."

Toph sighed, " I don't even want to think about what my mother's reaction to this will be." She rubbed her temple, " And Zuko's reaction once he realizes I snuck out in the middle of the night."

Zhang Yi patted her back in a consoling fashion, cringing when she flinched at the contact, he then said, " I knew that Ozai was a real bastard, but I didn't expect him to be a molester on top of everything else. What is he, an evil spirit in a man's body?"

Toph lay down, snatching a red sitting cushion from the floor, and pulled it beneath her head, feeling the film of dust on the floor, which allowed her to sense every mark in the wood. It was dirty, despite all the polishing.

Xin Fu tied Zhang Yi's scrolls to his messenger hawk, which then flew out the window, flying across the sea and eventually home. Toph wished silently, as it flew out from the window, free and flying through the night, for it to never return. Xin Fu turned to Toph and Zhang Yi, " Tomorrow will be another hectic day. In fact, it'll from tomorrow, it'll likely be only a week until wedding day."

Toph quirked a brow, " How can that be? No one's had time to prepare."

Zhang Yi interjected, " Actually, Iroh and the servants here have been preparing since the day the Fire Lord announced prince Zuko wed or be banished. They finalized the majority of their preparations after you and Zuko had that 'date,' because that's when Iroh gave them approval to begin working on everything that was left: your dress and the feast."

Toph recalled the man mentioning he'd had work to do, which was why he hadn't finished being their chaperone and even let them leave the palace. 'Sneaky bastard,' she thought, chuckling.

Xin Fu nodded, "Are you prepared?"

Toph threw her pillow in his general direction, " I can take on anything. I think I've proven that by now."

Xin Fu caught the pillow, nodding to Zhang Yi as the man returned to his sleeping quarters, where Haru also lay, still asleep.

Once they were alone, he said, " It's okay if you want to cry."

Toph threw another pillow at him, " I'm not the type."

Xin Fu nodded, " Well, I'm glad you both were able to figure out where to put it, I guess."

Toph laughed at that, " I can sense what people do inside their houses if they have a dirt floor. I've known for a long time what sex is. That's why I rebuked you when you tried to give me 'the talk' the other day. That and also, um, I really don't want to hear your take on the birds and the bees."

Xin Fu sat beside her, on the pillow she'd prior chucked at him, and poured a cup of Oolong tea, " I'm glad I brought this with me. They don't sell it here in the Fire Nation. They have a lot of tea here, but not this kind. Would you like a cup?"

Toph sat up, " Sure."

He sloppily poured a cup for her, and she drank it gratefully. It washed away the taste of the brew, which was a good thing.

"Hey, Xin Fu?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you being so nice to me?" She placed the cup to her lips, drank more.

His eyes crinkled, " I'm a nice guy."

She made an indignant face, "No you aren't."

He chuckled, " No, I'm not. And don't you forget it."

* * *

><p>Haru sat alone in his new, personal room. It was simple, and small. Xin Fu and Zhang Yi had also been given rooms. Now that Toph and Zuko's engagement had been approved by the highest authority (Ozai), she could no longer be grouped with the men. It had also been done to separate their team, making attacks on them easier, as they were now each alone. Just in case they were actually traitors.<p>

But that would be absurd.

There was a soft knocking at the door. The boy turned away from the window he'd been gazing out of, " Come in."

A group of pretty young women stood at the door. He smiled at them, albeit uneasily. The first girl held a platter of square shaped red bean cakes. He eyed them curiously, " Those look nice. What are they?"

Song Yi brushed past the door and into the room " These are the first of the Cha Li, otherwise known as 'tea presents.'"

Haru nodded, " But why are you giving them to me?"

She began carefully placing the platter of cakes onto the round table of the center room. " As the youngest male in your group, you will protect the gifts from evil spirits."

Haru nodded, " The Fire Nation's "day before the wedding" traditions are interesting, but what I want to know is where Toph is. I haven't seen her since I left her and Zuko to 'watch the sunset' together or whatever they were supposed to be doing."

Another female servant entered the room, bringing Hibiscus and Rose tea. Her breasts jiggled in her revealing outfit as she placed the teas on the table, and she winked at the earth-bending boy, who blushed slightly at the action.

And yet another behind her carried a basket of golden chrysanthemums. This girl appeared dark and serious, " Don't flirt with the earth bending guy, Ty Lee."

The curvaceous girl giggled, " Oh, whatever, Mai."

The servants and their gifts continued pouring into the room. After some time, and when only the first three girls still remained, Haru spoke again, " So where is she?"

Song Yi spoke, " She is being painted white to declare her maiden status to the Fire God. It's a formality, but one that can't be forgotten. "

" She's been missing for days. The painting process can't be that arduous. I was hoping to see her before her wedding day but here it is."

" The preparations take days. First, she and Zuko had to see a Prophet to find an upcoming auspicious day for the wedding, then she had to have the sin washed from her body—

The serious girl, who'd been silent up until this point, interrupted her, "What sin has the girl commited?"

Song Yi straightened up from the window she's been wiping down with a rag, " You mean you don't know?"

The girl with the extremely dark eyes and hair shook her head.

Ty Lee and Song Yi glanced at one another, the atmosphere suddenly uncomfortable.

"They were overcome with passion and made love before their wedding." Song Yi grimaced apologetically at the look of surprise on Haru and Mai's faces, and continued, " I know because I was ordered by Pho Shang, a guard who'd been standing outside Zuko's bedroom door that night, to start adding pomegranate juice to her bath water"

Haru squinted in confusion, " Why does that mean anything?"

Ty Lee watched her friend storm from the room, said, "It is supposed to purify the spirit of carnality, " then quickly followed after the fleeing Mai.

Haru digested the information, " I see." He did his best to pretend not to care. They had told the Fire Palace's servants and other inquirers that he was Toph's cousin after all. 'And a cousin would be aloof in this situation…right?' He thought to himself, gulping.

* * *

><p>Toph awoke, in her new bedroom, to the sound of drums. From the heat of the sun seeping through the window beside her, she could guess the time. She rolled onto her side in the king size bed beneath her, groaned.<p>

"It's like... fucking... eight am. Are you kidding me?"

Song Yi rubbed her eyes, yawned, " Well I've been up since five; I had to pass out the Cha Li. Good thing I got back before you woke up though, or we might've been in a quandary."

As Toph's assigned attendant, Song Yi was expected to stay with her almost constantly. They said it was tradition, that the bride always had a friend accompany her through the wedding preparations and day, but Toph secretly wondered if the girl was actually there to watch her every move.

" The drums ward off evil spirits."

Toph rolled her eyes, " How many evil spirits are we warding off here? You got Haru protecting my presents, I'm whiter than an albino, and I reek of pomegranates." Toph stood, stretched, bones creaking. The white paint covering her neck, chest, arms, and legs seeped into her pores, and her lacquered, plaited hair hung heavily against her back. It was all very uncomfortable. 'The things we women have to do for something as ridiculous and irrelevant as beauty.' Toph thought, huffing, feet curling against the polished marble floor.

" Well, the bad spirits will be strengthened after feeding from everyone's jealousy," Song Yi proceeded to retrieve more white paint from Toph's wedding dresser, which was filled with items specifically for the day. She began coating Toph's hands, and continued "And there's going to be a lot coming from that Mai girl."

Toph quirked a brow, " Who's that?"

Song Yi sat Toph into a plush pink chair, began adding color to her pure white face, starting with her lips, "Red for joy."

" Who's Mai?"

* * *

><p>The somber girl in question stood in front of the regal prince, who had been sitting alone in his room, in the dark until she'd arrived. She'd brought a candle. She knew him well.<p>

" You slept with her?"

He wore a black suit embroidered with red dragons, and golden warriors; great ancestors of the fire nation that would bring him luck on his wedding day. He also wore a red cummerbund, as well as golden cufflinks and a matching high collared changshang shirt.

Upon his shoulders a red cape hung, made to billow and look like fire when it danced in the day's strong breeze.

He looked away from his former girlfriend, " I don't see how that's your concern."

His hair was shiny and slicked back with grease and wax, and atop it was his prince's cap. A black, gold and ruby encrusted hat that matched his suit and pointed shoes had been placed carefully and joyfully upon his head by his uncle the day before, and according to tradition, meant the royal family recognized him as a man. Of course, his father had not been in attendance that day. Zuko wondered if he'd even show up to the actual wedding.

Mai interrupted his wandering thoughts, not allowing him to continue to avoid her " Do you still love me?"

Zuko glowered, turned away, " Did I ever?"

Mai lowered the candle, so that her hurt expression would be unseen in the dark.

" I know you did."

Zuko stood from where he'd sat, walked past her, back to her, " You didn't love me. You broke up with me."

Mai placed the candle and its holder onto the chair he'd abandoned, then moved to him, brushing her thin hand against his muscular bicep, resting her head lightly against his back, " I've always loved you, Zuko."

The prince froze for a moment, and then turned to Mai. " Why didn't you ever tell me, before?"

She sighed, " I was stupid. I thought we had all the time in the world."

Her pale face glowed lightly in the candlelight, her long, modest but pretty white qipao dress emphasizing her pale skin.

She looked up at him, " All that's left now is this," and then tip- toed, kissing him lightly.

Zuko kissed her back for a moment, then pushed her away. " We can't do this."

Mai stiffened, "Why?"

"It's dishonorable."

The girl frowned, " What's honor in the face of what we have?"

Zuko walked to the door, ready to open it, " Honor is everything to me."

Mai clasped his arm, stopping him, " We can be together with honor, though."

Zuko paused, " What do you mean?"

" While I don't like the idea of you with another woman, I know you can't go back on your word at this point. So while I may not be able to be your wife, I could be your…your concubine."

Zuko stared into Mai's face, which was difficult to make out now that they'd distanced themselves from the candle.

" You would do that?"

" If you love me, and only me."

There was a pregnant silence. Zuko broke it, " I'll think about it," then left.

Mai stood alone in the dark.

* * *

><p>Azula rubbed her index finger slowly over the young woman's sensitive spot in small, circular motions. " You want to see him again, don't you?"<p>

The woman lying beneath her on the dungeon floor with her hands tied to the cobblestone wall nodded hastily. Azula grabbed the girls chocolate curls roughly with her free hand, and jerked her head to the side, tongued an ear, then whispered hotly, " I'm the only thing keeping him alive."

The girl beneath her shivered as Azula ripped her robe open; revealing perky, round breasts, which bounced with the movement. The girl's pants were already abandoned beside them. The princess reveled in the sight, bit her plump, red bottom lip, and then lowered her dark head, swirled her tongue around a brown nipple, then sucked lightly, pulling the bud between her teeth. Her index finger went back to rubbing, now furiously, against her prisoners rosy clit. Azula smirked as she felt a familiar wetness around her busy finger.

" Do you like being humiliated like this?" The girl beneath her shook her head, brows furrowed, her cheeks blushing in shame. Azula slapped her harshly across the face. " Don't lie to me. Do you like it or not?" Azula adjusted the finger, her long nail foreboding against her prisoners genitalia. The prisoner whispered incoherently. " What's that?"

" I like it." Tears welled in the girl's eyes, and Azula smirked in glee.

" Of course you do. I'm the best in everything, including sex." The princess announced, now moving her head down between the girls legs, spreading them as she placed one hand beneath her prisoners left knee, the other against her right thigh, her captive now open to her. Azula ran her tongue across the girls pussy, maneuvering so that one of the girls legs was over her shoulder. She moved the hand that'd been on her prisoner's thigh to her hips, preventing her captive from bucking.

She then brought her pointer finger to the girls dripping hole, and plunged it in, lapping at the girl's clit simultaneously. Her captive cried out passionately, gasping and moaning as the princess' ministrations became rougher with the addition of her middle finger. The appendages slipped in and out of her, curling occasionally. The motions became unbearable once two fingers became three, thrusting harshly, knuckle deep, in and out of the captured girl.

The prisoner bit her lip, tried to contain her sounds despite the undeniably hot feeling of having her pussy pounded by the princess' strong fingers.

Azula slicked and coiled her tongue, like a snake, around the girl's most sensitive spot, smirking against it as she felt her prisoner's muscles clamping down on her thrusting fingers, but didn't stop her attentions until the girl was screaming, her back arching to a near breaking point from the hard ground.

Azula lifted her head, and then stood over the naked girl. She beamed down wickedly at the sight of the still panting, sweaty and blushing girl. " You should have seen the way your tight little pussy was sucking my fingers in. . ."

The girls face flamed bright red.

"Such a slut."

The prisoner closed her eyes, turned her head away. Azula tsked, " Though I wont deny I enjoyed your company…and your taste." She popped the three fingers that had been violating her prisoner only moments before into her mouth, sucked.

Her prisoner opened her eyes again, her expression distressed. Azula's eyes crinkle in amusement. " Yes, you've provided quite a bit of fun for me."

She knelt down, untied her captives hands. The girl clasped her sore wrists uneasily, then began to stand, only to be pushed down by Azula. The girl glanced up at the princess questioningly.

Azula stared firmly into the young woman's blue eyes, " Remember, you serve me. You do as I say."

The princess gestured for the girl to stand. She did.

" Your first two tasks will be tonight," Narrow amber eyes stare into wide cerulean.

" What are they?"

The princess smirks, " Firstly, you are going to help me ruin my brothers wedding."

Blue eyes blink, nods.

"Then you're going to save my life. "

The princess opens the barred door, " You save my life, I save your brothers."

* * *

><p>Toph and Zuko sat in front of one another at the Fire Temple altar, their knees touching. In Zuko's hand was a cup of red tea. Dipping his finger in the liquid, he swirled it around, then brought it out, and flicked a fingertip of the tea above her red veiled head to salute the god of fire.<p>

He placed the cup down, beside him on the altar table.

The high priest to the fire god then came forward, walked around them, and blessed their coupling by waving a burning sage over them. The smoke smelled bitter and sweet.

Toph's hands, which hand been cupped in front of her, opened, revealing a boiled egg, and a pitted date.

To him, she offered the egg. He accepted it, eating half at first, breaking the soft yolk, which was symbolic of breaking his bride's ties with her family.

Toph then ate the sweet pitted date, which represented fertility, and tried not to think of the murky brew.

They swallowed their food, intertwined hands, and then bowed so that their heads touched, wisps of smoke still travelling languidly in the cool air.

With that, the nuptials had ended.

They were officially husband and wife.

Toph extended her hand to him, and they rose from the ground together, exiting the temple, only to be bombarded by thunderous applause and music. Drums, trumpets, flutes and gongs pounded and blared. Toph inhaled sharply at the sensory overload, fought the urge to cover her ears.

Zuko squeezed her small hand reassuringly, then moved his hand to the side of her golden headdress, carefully pulling away the veil, revealing his new bride to him self and the public.

The girl was white as ivory, her shining obsidian hair styled into a large, round bun which was adorned with a golden tiara. From the bun a long, thick and complicated plait hung down from the side and past her breast, and the natural hair that gathered by her ears was styled into round curls that clung to her pale face, behind which red chrysanthemums had been pinned.

It was like staring into the face of a goddess. His stolen breath returned as impatient, stormy grey eyes almost met his, thick black eyelashes sparkling with flecks of gold glitter.

There was a moment of silence in appreciation of her beauty. In that moment, as was customary; Zuko leaned over, kissed her crimson lips chastely, thus declaring their love to his people.

More applause.

Fire nation guards controlled the crowd, preventing them from coming too close to the royal couple.

Zuko handed the long crimson veil to her, returning it, and she draped it around her shoulders, making it a shawl.

Which, again, followed fire nation customs.

With the help of a selection of attendants, the newlyweds were then placed in a giant-peacock drawn carriage, whose feathers were spread beautifully. The couple was then followed by a procession of royal attendants who carried red banners, and lanterns. The round paper lights glowed ethereally in the dim, as day turned to night.

Zuko turned to her, whispering through smiling teeth as he waved at joyous citizens, " You do look nice."

Toph growled through equally beaming teeth, " Getting ready for this shit took days. I better look like a fucking goddess."

Zuko didn't mention that he thought she did.

The journey back to the palace would be short as it was not far from the temple, and was still within the walls of the city.

Just as Toph and Zuko stepped down from their carriage, arriving at the palace's opened gates, they paused at the sounds of angered shouting amongst the cries of excitement.

Suddenly, an egg was cracking against Toph's chin.

This was not customary.

Another burst into her shoulder.

She paused, attempting to sense the offender, ignoring Zuko as he attempted to cover her with his cape, ushering her inside the closing walls.

" Earth kingdom scum!"

" Go back to Ba Sing Se!"

" Green eyed witch!"

" Die!"

"Die!"

"Die!"

Toph turned to face the angry mob, which was being kept back by the palace's guards. As the gates were almost entirely shut, she lifted a white hand, which rose out from her long red sleeve like a dove from a cage. She held it out in an upturned fist, then, laughing, lifted her middle finger, and mouthed, " Fuck you."

The doors were then closed entirely.

* * *

><p>What exactly does Azula have planned? How did Katara wind up in the Fire Nation? Will Zuko accept Mai as his courtesan? Where do Haru and Toph stand? And how the heck is Toph going to gain the trust of the people of the fire nation? How the heck is she going to save the world?<p>

…Read. Review.


	10. Chapter 10

This chapter is somewhat shorter than usual. But. That's because I'm trying to put them out a little faster. So.

Work with me.

And enjoy ;)

* * *

><p>The princess' dark eyes scanned the banquet hall, spotting the royal couple without difficulty. It was like hunting red robins in a field of snow; a laughable task to any experienced predator.<p>

Once day had turned to night, the banquet hall was lit by hundreds of crystal lanterns, which glimmered beautifully.

To Azula, the glow was somewhat eerie, but then, everything was always distorted in her bronze eyes.

As it was Fire Nation tradition for the royal couple to be in bright colors, and for everyone else, aside from the King, to be all in white, Azula wore a glossy, ivory qipao, with diamond peonies patterns stitched in. As she was part of the royal family, some gaudiness was still to be expected.

The silk clung to her voluptuous curves and sculpted limbs, the hem falling gracefully around her ankles. Her dark hair was pinned in a loose bun at the back of her head, wavy wisps hanging around her face, framing it prettily.

Zuko's sister sashayed to the newlyweds, crystals sparkling in the dim glow of the room, silver heels stabbing harshly into the marble stone floor. _Click click click._ She ignored the demeaning glance-overs from her fathers appointed generals and commanders. The whispers and smirks.

Even the un-entitled attendants seemed to think it was OK to look her up and down and smile suggestively.

Strangely, the princess hated the attention.

Which was ironic because she herself licked her lips wantonly at Katara, whom was her attendant for the night, as she passed her by, a platter of cherry blossom champagne shaking slightly atop her tanned fingertips. The water tribe girl blushed, topaz blue eyes looking away. Azula smirked, eyeing the girl's rounded bottom, which was emphasized by the simple wide silk ribbon the princes had given her to tie around the waist of her white cotton dress. Those who'd seen the gesture had mistaken it for an act of kindness.

In truth, the princess was just a bit of a pervert. Especially when it came to young, lovely women.

Turning her head away from Katara's now distant form, she looked to and came to a stop in front of Toph, who looked up into her general direction, painted ruby red lips smiling in earnest, though the princess could sense some boredom behind it.

Standing in front of her brother's sightless bride, ignoring the prince's agitation at her presence, Azula's mouth cracked upwards, eyes not matching the expression. " Ah, duchess. You are a duchess, now."

Toph nodded, shrugged, " Lucky me."

Azula's eyebrow cocked at the possibility of a _tone_ in her brothers wife's voice. " Well. I'm so delighted to have you as a sister." Her words rang loudly, she'd spoken so that everyone would hear.

She placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, sharp nails digging into her supple flesh, the fine cloth covering it, and leaned in slowly, dangerously, then kissed her flawless white cheek.

Toph flinched at the incisions made by the princess' strong fingers in her shoulder, but smiled back nonetheless, " It's nice to know that you and I feel the same about each other."

What Toph meant was missed by neither of the two women.

Zuko, as always, was oblivious.

He did know, however, that he didn't want his sister anywhere near him. Or Toph, for that matter.

Not that he cared.

A husband looks out for his wife.

And stuff.

So don't go jumping to conclusions.

The silence following was interrupted by an uncomfortable cough from Zuko, " Sister. What do you want?"

Azula stepped away from Toph but towards her brother, the dreadful smile still broad on her face, " What? I can't congratulate my brother on his wedding day?"

Zuko was about to retaliate, but stopped once he noticed a new arrival in the conversation.

The smile faltered at the sense of a presence behind her, " Well, he'll soon enough be in your same position, we can all be sure."

General Zhao stood behind her, looking stiff in his crisp, white military uniform. He held bubbling cherry blossom champagnes in each of his scarred hands. The man offered a fizzing pink glass to Azula, who accepted, grin no longer to be seen.

Those who did not know the princess and who witnessed the exchange wrote it off as a young girls reservation.

Zuko knew otherwise. Azula, like his wife, was not a shy girl.

" But what do you mean, General?" The prince dared, looking ever dashing in his suit with his slicked back hair and questioning golden eyes.

The man chuckled, which troubled Zuko further. This was a man who with he shared a mutual hatred, and whom never, as far as the prince knew, had been known to chuckle.

The noise seemed to startle even Zhao himself, who sobered somewhat and said, " Well, I don't want to ruin any surprises. Lets see how the night plays out, shall we?"

Zuko nodded, noting the way his sister was choosing to neglect her favorite drink, the way her jaw clenched. Her eyes darted about the room. She looked like a captured snake.

Toph, reminded of Xin Fu, wondered what he was up to in his room, as he and the other Earth Kingdom men weren't allowed at the wedding feast.

"Right, well, my wife and I best be on our way—to begin the feast."

She wondered what Haru was up to.

…

Nobody cares about Zhang Yi.

" Oh, yes, do so. I've… quite an appetite." Zhao responded.

Zuko nodded, placed an arm around Toph's waist, leading her away from the parasitic pair, to the banquet table. Once they took their seats, it would signal the beginning of the feast.

" Do me a favor." Zuko said to Toph, as two attendants pulled their plush chairs out for them, she quirked her head in question.

" Stay away from her."

Toph didn't respond to his request, simply ignoring him and choosing to inhale the myriad of scrumptious scents wafting through the air around them. An impressive spread was laid out before the court, the guests now all seated at the table.

Fire Lord Ozai stood at the opposite end of the table from the young couple, seemingly scrutinizing the food and everything else. No one was allowed to touch his or her food until the man deigned to take a seat.

Finally, done demonstrating even the most miniscule of his power over all in the room, he was in his chair. He began the consumption by gesturing to a red roast duck, which was sliced and fed to him by an attendant.

Toph placed her hands on the table, in an attempt to 'see' the treats and dishes that had been prepared. There was hot, fried bean curd dipped in soy sauce, fresh vegetables wrapped delicately in rice paper, fried cheeses, fermented cucumbers and cabbage, grilled asparagus, steamed pressed rice noodles, marinated pork, sliced tender beef sautéed with garlic, spices and spinach, red and green curry sauces, caramelized onions, fiery chili peppers in ginger vinaigrette, broiled bamboo shoots, large shrimp simmered with minced lemon, battered tofu, pan fried egg noodles and more and more. It was endless. She didn't know where to begin.

Toph turned to Song Yi, whom was her attendant for the feast, " If it's spicy or tangy, I want it."

Zuko watched her from the corner of his eye, critically. _' She'd better behave before the court.' _

Toph's red mouth opened wide for dollop of orange curry. Her lips closed around the spoon like a rosebud closes as day turns to night. She then swallowed, eyes closed, enjoying the savory taste.

The prince looked away, and a few who'd watched the moment chuckled quietly to themselves.

At the opposite end of the table, beside her father but not at the head with him, Azula sipped nervously at her cherry blossom bubbly. Accepting a slice of tender beef offered to her by her equally nervous attendant, Katara, she opened her mouth and chewed, eating automatically, fighting the urge to gag at the sight in front of her.

General Zhao was gazing directly at the princess and slurping indelicately and suggestively at an oyster, running his tongue along the edges of it before deftly plunging his appendage into the shells hollow, lapping up the remainder of the meaty juices.

Azula didn't discount the glances in her direction, the chuckles in regards to Zhao's antics. Her father even, like the generals, was smirking in approval at the sexual display. Her father even, like the generals, was admiring her developing feminine form, the way her dress revealed a little too much cleavage.

Her brother, Zuko, as always, was oblivious.

Azula swallowed her humiliation, along with the beef. It tasted salty, like the tears she'd cried all those nights before in the dark when her childhood was lost and her innocence damned to hell.

' _But. I'll be the one to have the last laugh. You can bet on it.' _

From across the room she could hear Toph and Zuko arguing about the egg incident with the commoners, from earlier in the day.

" I'm just saying you should be careful!"

" I'm not weak, I can protect myself."

At the doubtful expressions, Toph blinked, then giggled falsely, " Well, from an egg or two. Teehee!"

From beneath the table, she pinched Zuko, who coughed at the egg drop soup he'd been sipping, glaring at her in turn.

Iroh chuckled and looked around at the other members at the table, esteemed military men and members of the royal family, " Lovers quarrels already!"

As usual, he'd saved the day.

Everyone laughed, the 'lovers' in question blushing and rolling their eyes.

The princess noted Mai, somber, beside her. She was unaware, no doubt, that she was gazing enviously, and openly at the newlyweds.

' _A predator waits for just the right moment. Then. Strikes.' _Azula inhaled with some excitement. She had been wondering if the opportunity she'd needed would present itself at all. But of course, it had. She often was quite lucky that way.

" Mai, my goodness, are you crying?"

Azula gestured for Katara to give her a napkin. She did. The princess dabbed somewhat violently at her friends face.

The sounds of chopsticks tapping and scraping at porcelain plates paused.

A few apprehensive gulps could be heard all across the great hall.

Mai's face reddened in shame, " I'm not."

Zuko's fists clenched. Azula, feigning a comforting pat on Mai's back, slipped a parcel into the white sash around the girls' waist. The movement went unnoticed.

The knife thrower could feel her throat tightening, " I'm not." She repeated, voice breaking.

Iroh, whom sat to the left of Zhao, intervened, " Many people become overcome with emotion at weddings. Especially young ladies, like dear Mai here. Or maybe it's just this roast duck. It is very, very delicious. So much, well, I could cry too, for appreciation of just—being alive."

On that note, Zhao stood ceremoniously, tapping his champagne glass with one of his chopsticks.

" Speaking of—appreciating life. I think it's time I grasped the moment. I have something to say. If it's all right with you, my lord. " He nodded to Ozai, who smirked in response.

" I can't think of a more romantic setting than a wedding. And a little romance is necessary when a man is about to—well, I'm not going to beat around the bush, here—propose."

Azula grimaced.

" Princess. Over the years I've watched you. And I feel that you and I share many of the same admirable qualities; we're cunning. And we go in for the kill."

Azula sat frozen.

" By that I mean when we want something, we go after it. Like a hunter seeks it's prey, and I want you. I suppose in some ways, my love is like a hunter. You probably didn't see it until it was too late. Until I was proposing, I mean. Well, that, and, your father already approves. I guess I'm just hoping that, with these word's, you'll be…ensnared."

Zhao looked back at the amber-eyed beauty with confidence. As he'd already said, her father had approved. Meaning he need not worry about her decision, for there was only one allowed.

' _So nice of you to give a grand speech so that we can all act like I have a choice._' Azula scoffed inwardly.

She remembered to force the corners of her mouth upwards, and to stand. " General, I must say you really have trapped me with your love." She giggled, batted her eyelashes, and offered him a clawed hand, which he kissed.

Behind her, Katara cringed.

Ozai stood with them, clapping, and the rest of the guests followed in turn.

The attendants took the break in eating as a cue to bring in the wedding cakes. In the fire nation, it was tradition for the sister to marry directly after her brother, and vice versa. There were also two separate cakes. One was for the newlyweds, the sister of the groom, and her fiancée—a lovers' cake. It was small and red, with gold icing adornments. The second was for the well-wishers—everyone else in attendance.

The four 'lovers' then moved to a small round table separate from the banquet table, where their cake was placed, in the center of it, as everyone else watched. Katara and Azula shared a meaningful glance as the princess sat, Zhao beside her, Zuko and Toph beside him.

Zuko's attendant began slicing the cake, each cut into the moist flesh feeling like an eternity to each of them.

Toph sensed something strange in the princess' breathing pattern.

' _Something's wrong. I could tell earlier that the girl doesn't like this ass-hat. But that's not it. There's something else.' _

Toph accepted a bite of her slice of the cake from Song Yi, not focusing on the sweet but bitter taste of it.

She chewed. Zuko took his from his attendant, and then Zhao. Then finally, Azula accepted her piece. She bit into it carefully. Toph swallowed. She could feel the princess' heart. It was hammering violently in her chest.

Suddenly, Toph felt her lip twitch involuntarily.

' _Oh my god. The cake.' _

A white-hot pain ripped through her, she cried out, gripping the table. Zuko looked to her in confusion, but was then gripped by the horrible burning agony himself. " Poison!" He uttered.

The four lovers fell, like droplets of blood, to the unforgiving stone floor.

* * *

><p>WHAT. IS GOING. TO HAPPEN. NEXT.<p>

REVIEW.

P.S. I'll say this before someone thinks it-Azula's lesbianism and her being a bitch aren't really related. In a way, they are (the fire nation isn't accepting of homosexuality) but mostly this is just her character. I don't think lesbians are evil or anything. It just so happens Azula is a lesbian. And is possibly somewhat evil. Ok? Ok.


	11. Chapter 11

Chaos.

Zuko could feel himself transitioning in and out of consciousness. Between slow blinks, he could make out a blurred vision of what had become of his wedding night.

Fearful guests were scrambling for the door, guards rushing to keep them shut. Somewhere in the back of his mind, it registered that the hall often served as an arena for semi-public executions.

In an instant, Iroh was at his side, shaking him, " No. No. I will not lose another son."

Zuko's eyes shut completely, and the world around him faded to black.

* * *

><p>Zuko awoke to the intense feeling of bile rising up his throat. He gagged, and then vomited the entire contents of his stomach onto the white sheets covering him.<p>

He threw the blankets off, disgusted, and then lay back against the pillows propped behind his head. He looked around wearily, registering that he was in palace's infirmary, and then noticed the water tribe girl who'd been attending his sister at the wedding hunched over Toph, her brown hands glowing an ethereal blue, which was magnified in the light of the full moon, which could be seen through the wide window in the room, which spanned the length of almost the entirety of the back wall.

Toph appeared to be in worse shape than he himself was in, although it was hard to tell as her skin was still coated in layers of makeup. He figured she must be since she was still unconscious.

" Unfortunately, it seems that since you took a rather large bite, your body still has to reject the remnants of the poison from its system. When I knew you were no longer on the brink of death I had to move on to treating your wife. But be glad for the vomiting—it'll cleanse you, though I'm sure it's uncomfortable."

Zuko glared, he was in pain, not discomfort. .

He attempted to stand, but at the motion, could feel a second wave of nausea. He bent over the bed, breathing heavily, head in his hands. His uncle, whom he hadn't noticed had been sitting at his bedside, handed him a waste bin. The prince upheaved the remainders of the contents of his belly into the bin, stomach churning in miserable agony. What was once a beautiful feast now swam in putrid chunks ; he set the bucket down.

" Who did it?" He asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, forcing the words out.

The water healer stiffened, but continued to work.

Azula, whom was now healed but still aching, pretended to be asleep in her bed, allowing Fire Nation healers to rub her body with healing herbs.

Iroh gestured for Ty Lee, whom also was in the room, to remove the bucket and bring new, clean covers. " Suspects are still in questioning as we speak."

" And who are the suspects?" He asked, weakly, allowing Ty Lee to tuck him in a new, clean duvet.

" All servants involved in handling the feast, among some of the guests. I was just cleared myself, actually." The brown-eyed girl remarked as she wiped his sweating face with a damp rag. She then handed him a flask of water, which he accepted cautiously. He wasn't sure if his stomach could handle even that.

They all turned at the sound of Toph stirring. Ty Lee moved to her side, helping the water tribe girl lift her into a sitting position on her bed. His bride blinked, and she stretched slightly, though she seemed to regret the decision as she gasped, clenching her stomach.

" OK everything hurts." She said in annoyance, then, " Someone help me put my feet on the ground."

'_I want to see what the hell's going on.' _She thought, anxious.

Ty Lee did so, and then the moment her feet touched the cool ground, Toph immediately sighed, " They didn't have to kill them."

Everyone in the room looked at her in confusion, though Iroh seemed only saddened by this statement.

" What are you talking about?" Ty Lee asked, moving out of the Fire Nation healers' way as they moved to rub herbs on Toph now. The water tribe girl moved to Zuko, pressing glowing blue hands onto his back. He felt instantly relieved, but still confused by his wife's words.

" The attendants whom served us the cake, save the healer, are dead."

Ty Lee shook her head in denial, " And you know this how?"

Toph grimaced.

" I can see them. Their bodies are in the room beside us. Motionless."

Ty Lee covered her mouth in shock, and then sank down on the floor, brought to tears. After a moment she said, " I'm sorry," then continued despite her embarrassment at her own breakdown, "She was my friend. Song Yi. And now she's just gone. I can't believe she's gone. "

Toph frowned, hands clenched, she'd grown to like Song Yi herself, " Well, she is." Her toes curled against the earthen floor. Toph blinked at the realization that they were on level ground, not elevated on a second or third floor where she was forced to walk on marble or wood. It was a welcome comfort.

Zuko shook his head, " But why did they do it? What would those servants have gained from poisoning us?"

The water tribe girl bit her lip nervously, hoped no one would notice the cold sweat she'd broken into, glowing hands still pressed to the prince's back.

Iroh, whom still sat beside Zuko, looked down in remorse, " I doubt they were aware of the poison. Still, their involvement meant for their immediate deaths. Your father likes to set examples."

Zuko placed his hand to his scarred eye, swallowed, the taste of regurgitate still in his mouth.

" But then, who did poison us?" He asked, " And why?" He glanced over to Toph, _'What if…she had planned to kill the heirs to the fire throne along with herself? Is this a botched assassination attempt by the Earth Kingdom?' _

The girl in question appeared deep in thought.

As he felt the pain ebb from his body, he noticed general Zhao, whom was in the bed behind him, and the blood that was leaking out the corner of his mouth.

" Oh my god!" He exclaimed. While he never liked the man, watching anyone die was a disturbing sight to behold. " I think I'm going to be fine. Help him."

Katara turned, " Oh, no, I can't."

At Zuko's disturbed expression, the girl elaborated, " I mean. Well I'm afraid the poison was too strong from him. By the time we brought you all down here he was already dead."

Toph tilted her head to the side, sensing the lie through the girls' heartbeat. Electing not to remark on this fact, she simply said, "Two people dead and counting, that's definitely a good sign."

Ty Lee stood from the floor, wiped her tears for Song Yi from her eyes, " How are we going to tell Azula?"

Toph's eyes squinted in thought, _' She already knows. Doesn't she.'_

* * *

><p>Toph's white fingers encircled the back of her ear to capture the orange and red flowers tucked behind it, and removed them, discarding them atop the bedside table. They came undone from the string that connected them, sprawling onto the floor. Next she took the two jade ornaments from the top of her hair, loosening it. She moved onto her plait, unwound it, and combed nimble fingers through dark waves.<p>

Zuko sat on the bed, his back to her. They'd since been released from the infirmary, and were now in their shared quarters. But instead of feeling excitement for his first night alone with his new bride, he felt only a bristling, consuming anger, and even fear. He didn't truly want to believe his own suspicions were true, but what other explanation was there? She was Earth Kingdom after all.

To distract himself, he removed his prince's cap. He placed it on the table on his side of the bed.

His feet planted on the ground, she could sense something odd in his breathing pattern.

Toph stood upright, began untying her sash, which in effect loosened her robes. Tucking her thumbs between the seams, she opened them outward and wide like curtains, let them sink to the floor around her ankles, and was then covered only by her mint green, slightly see through, slip.

He breathed in and out through clenched teeth, his back still to her.

" We almost died today." She remarked, finally, an awkward attempt to break the ice.

" I know." He bit out, and then tossed his jacket off—it landed on the floor.

Toph sat at the bedside table, still hidden in thick white makeup. She didn't flinch, but came close to.

" Are you mad at me or something?" She asked, ever to the point.

He turned to her, finally, nostrils flared, " Should I be?"

Toph squinted, " I know where you're going with this."

He rounded the bed, stopping in front of her, looking down, his scar curling with his glare, " My father insinuated you were a spy. Who was I to doubt him?"

Toph rolled her blind eyes, " I don't know, someone with half a brain!"

Zuko, in a sudden act of aggression, pushed her roughly, causing her to stumble backwards.

In their room, the floors were marble, and with only dust for her to bend, she was at a disadvantage. Toph changed strategies at the realization, deciding to play the weakling for once, hating it all the while. Although she'd caught her balance already, she continued to step backwards, as if in fear. As if. " This isn't what I was expecting our wedding night to be like."

Zuko took another step forward, approaching her now until she was backed against the wall. " No, you thought we'd all be dead by now. We would be if things had gone your way."

Toph sighed, " If I was a spy. And we're talking crazy hypothetical situation. Why would I kill you, your sister, Zhao and myself? It doesn't even make any sense."

He hovered menacingly over her, hands burning at his sides. With little distance between them, she could feel them, and breathed in, remaining calm. " You'd have effectively killed off all heirs to the fire throne. First being me, second being Zhao, and third being my sister."

Toph blinked in realization, _' Was that what the princess' plan had been? To kill everyone in line aside from herself? But Zuko and I are still alive…which means she messed up somehow. And I'll bet that water bender servant was in on it too. Yes, of course she was…'_

Zuko slammed his hand over her head, breaking her line of thought, " Stop wasting time trying to come up with excuses!"

She shook her head at the loud noise assaulting her ears, " Whoever poisoned the cake had to be involved in making it. I obviously wasn't, and the men who came with me weren't allowed to be a part of the wedding in any way what so-ever. Seriously, do you think you could use your head for maybe just one second? For the both of us?"

She could sense his anger rising, and so continued, all the while fighting the urge to push him away from her. She looked up in his general direction, " Zuko, give me some credit. If I was a spy, and I'm not, I'd go after The King."

He seemed startled by this announcement; she knew that she was treading dangerous waters, but continued, " And I wouldn't poison myself in the process," She smirked, " I'm too goddamn awesome to have to resort to that."

Zuko, while mildly appalled by her proclamation, seemed simultaneously appeased. She slipped out from between him and the wall, " I came here to marry you. That's why I'm here."

She tossed her hair behind her head, almost a little too dramatically. She really shouldn't take seduction pointers from Xin Fu. Zuko didn't seem to care, though. She continued, " And tonight is our wedding night. So could you please just get your shit together so that you can fuck me?" She smiled broadly after the last statement, blinked cutely.

Zukos eye's widened to the size of gongs.

He cleared his throat, " Well. Actually. We already consummated the marriage." He looked around the room, trying to distract himself from the sight of her and decide if he still mistrusted her or not.

Toph felt a wave of uncertainty. Did he not want her, anymore, then?

She pursed her lips, then returned to what seemed to her the only thing that would get him to stop examining his own shoes, " We did almost die today, you know."

He looked up at her in mild teenage frustration, " Right, so you reminded me earlier," She stood before him in her mint green slip, a strange look in her eyes, he looked away from her, then back, " And yeah, yeah we did. Almost."

Suddenly it dawned on him.

They'd both been on the brink of death, and now here they were in the same room, just two people staring back at one another.

And she looked beautiful in the flickering light of the torches.

He took a few steps back, removed his jacket, his shirt, and then finally, his boots and pants. He took a deep breath, remembered she was blind. Nevertheless he blushed in embarrassment as she stood facing him in perfect calm as he quickly withdrew his loincloth.

He walked back to her, steadily, watched her begin to remove her slip, stopped her by placing a firm hand on her delicate wrist as she lifted the loose material above her chest.

" Don't."

Her brows furrowed in confusion.

" Let me." He said. She lifted her arms in understanding, and he pulled the under dress off of her. She backed away from him as he gazed momentarily at her naked breasts, lied down on the bed.

She gestured for him to join her, waving ever so slightly.

He climbed on top of her, didn't kiss her, but removed the last article of clothing on her, her panties. He tossed them off the bed and they fell softly to the floor.

It dawned on them both in the same instant, then, that they were entirely naked. She smiled crudely, and he scoffed slightly at her brazenness.

Despite the fact that they'd already 'been with one another' once, the first time didn't seem to truly count for either of them, as they'd been more or less forced into the act.

This time it seemed to them both the first time.

They were married, and even if they hadn't truly chosen one another this was their wedding night. And he was young, and handsome, and honorable. And she was young, and beautiful and honest.

" We're alive." He remarked, touching his hand to her face, laughing somewhat.

A silent agreement was made between the two as they lay side by side in the dim: Tomorrow they could think of death, and war, and royalty and responsibility.

For tonight they would forget.

He pressed his hand into hers, and knelt down, kissing her chastely.

She kissed him back, and tonight that was all that mattered.

* * *

><p>(So do you guys want a lemon? Yes? No? Don't forget I do take plot suggestions into consideration so. REVIEW. Because they feed my soul. Do itttt….)<p> 


	12. Chapter 12

Warning: This chapter contains lemon, mentions of rape, and death.

* * *

><p>Katara awoke suddenly. She supposed it was from a nightmare, but she couldn't be sure because she couldn't remember the details anymore. Blinking in and out of consciousness, she noticed a figure in a chair across from the bed, staring at her intently. It was Azula. Katara swallowed slightly, uncomfortable, then announced, "I'm still tired. I'm going back to sleep."<p>

Azula cocked her head to the side, eyes glowing red in the light of the sun, which shone through the crimson curtains that covered the wide windows of the room, "You slept for nine hours and thirty-four minutes and you're still tired?"

"Yes…I—wait how do you know the exact time?" Katara rubbed her eyes, groggy.

"I spent the night counting. Time. It's interesting how some hours seem like a moment and others an eternity. " Azula didn't move from her perch.

Katara scoffed, figuring the princess was exaggerating, that she must have slept for some time ," Oh? You didn't lose your count at any point?"

"They say practice makes perfect... In all, from the moment your eyes closed, to just now, when they opened, fifty thousand seven hundred and sixty four seconds passed. When you woke it was a simple matter of mathematical processing, figuring out the hours." Azula's eyes were wide with manic exhaustion, and Katara couldn't believe she hadn't noticed the red inflammation around the corners of the princess' eyes before. She supposed their striking golden color had distracted her from it.

Still, the prospect of her captor's total insomnia was somewhat hard to believe, as Azula was still so clever, so the water tribe girl asked "Wait—You were really up the whole night counting seconds?"

Azula sat perfectly still, "You can't stop sleeping. I can't sleep at all."

Katara was baffled, "How long has it been since you actually slept?"

" A while. Not since… "Azula took a breath in, shook her head slightly, " Wouldn't it be interesting if we could trade hours of waking and sleeping with one another? Or purchase them? Of course, then I'd be the one sleeping all the time, - I'd buy it all from you. The entire fifty thousand seven hundred and sixty four seconds. But, although you can buy so many things in the fire nation, unfortunately, sleep isn't one of them. "

Katara sat up, gold sheets rustling, " I just had an idea."

Azula smiled slightly, " Tell me."

"I could …try to heal us. After all, in a way, we're both sick. "

Azula shrugged, playing along, silently hopeful, and sat by the healer.

Katara pressed a hand to her own chest, then another to Azula's. A blue light emanated from her hands, seeping into their pores. It felt good, like a massage almost, Azula noted. But sleep did not overcome her, and Katara still slouched with exhaustion. Azula pulled away, " Clearly, some wounds don't heal."

Katara twiddled her thumbs slightly, nervous to ask a question that she'd wanted to approach the princess with since they'd begun copulating, " What wounds do you speak of, princess?"

Azula pursed her lips slightly, looked down, and then up to the ceiling, eyes watery, breathed heavily, " I suppose it only makes sense if I start with the siege. You've heard of the Siege of Ba Sing Se, correct?"

Katara nodded, wondering what the battle could have to do with Azula, " Yes, it was considered a great victory for the Earth Kingdom."

" Well what you probably didn't know, was that the only reason they won at all was because my Uncle Iroh, who was leading the battle, abandoned it after the death of his only son, Lu Ten, leaving hundreds of Fire Nation soldiers without a commander or orders. He was distraught, I suppose. Anyways, most of the soldiers left after he did, but those who remained died in the disorder. It was a great disgrace."

Azula sat beside her dresser, gestured for Katara to begin preparing her for the day.

"Shortly after these events, Daddy asked his father, Fire Lord Azulon, to pass Iroh's birthright of the throne to him, since he considered Iroh to be unworthy for letting the death of his son get in the way of Ba Sing Se. Unfortunately for father, this request only angered grandfather who declared that Ozai would be fittingly punished for venturing to betray his own brother in his time of sadness. My brother Zuko was to be killed, so that father would know how it felt to lose his own firstborn son. By the next morning, my mother had disappeared, grandfather Azulon was proclaimed dead, and father was announced as his willed successor."

Katara set the brush down, and they paused whilst she held a water basin and crushed mint for Azula to brush her teeth with. She did so. She spat out the frothy white liquid, turned back to face her servant.

" The night before my mother left, she woke Zuko, and I remember because we'd been playing together, hide and seek—and I'd fallen asleep where I was hidden under his bed. She came to him and told him she loved him, to never forget whom he was, no matter how things seemed to change. And then she left. I went to my own room right after, but she never came. She just left. I didn't get so much as a letter from that woman. Nothing, I got nothing from her. But Zuko was always her favorite. I think something about me scared her. But then, I can be a little intimidating." Azula smirked cruelly at Katara who cringed slightly, now filing the princess' long, sharp nails.

" During this time, there was a lot of confusion. Zhao, being the calculating general that he was, seized his opportunity. My mother and her servants were no longer with me in my quarters, as they'd been banished, and so for the night of my father's inauguration, I was alone for the first time in my life. I remember that I was crying—because mother was gone, and then Zhao had knocked on the door and told me not to worry, because I wasn't alone. That he would be there, always. He promised he was going to take care of me. I unlocked the door when he mentioned he'd brought my favorite sweets. I unlocked it." Azula turned to Katara and laughed, " I was a stupid fucking cunt, once, you know?"

Katara could almost feel her heart break at Azula's smile. And that bothered her because she still really hated Azula for everything she'd done to her up to this point. The princess continued, " He kissed me, and I was confused then because I didn't know what that was. He said it was a game, and when I told him to stop, that I didn't like this new game, he got so angry, and he hit me and burned me—you've seen the scars, they aren't from battle. No one touches me in battle."

Azula started to dress, choosing a black suit with a red sash that tied around the waist, waving Katara away when she attempted to help and continued,

"And then he put me on my bed and I was screaming for my mother…and she never came. Obviously. But like I said I was really stupid back then so I kept calling for her, and calling for her- ' Mommy! Mommy?'" Azula paused suddenly, stared off into nothing.

There was a stretch of silence, until Katara interrupted it with a simple, " I'm so sorry."

Azula blinked, then smiled, and Katara found her smile so tragic, so tragic she wanted to comfort her, but didn't, because there was something about Azula's smile that was terribly frightening, too, " Don't be. It's not like I cry about it anymore. In fact, I don't cry about anything anymore. I suppose what doesn't kill you, really does make you stronger."

Katara didn't answer that, because she didn't agree, then dared to ask, " So Fire Lord Ozai doesn't know about Zhao?"

Azula glared, " Of course not. And what a shame I would have been to the royal family if I'd told. I did open the door of my own accord, after all. I'm sorry is that where I left off? With him opening the door? No, no, we'd gotten to the part about the bed. Well. I guess you… don't need the details. Zhao was …violent. But it was bearable, because it was more like fighting than anything to me. Except he always cried afterwards, which I still don't understand. One night, I comforted him, told him that it was OK, because I figured that, if he thought I wanted him as well, he might be gentler from then on out. And he was. Yet it was when he became softer that I think I really started to hate him. Or maybe it was because by then I was older, and understood. Still, I played along. Promised to marry him, even. But he had to swear to keep that part a secret. He had to keep it all a secret. I told him it was for my honor. So being smitten as he was, he agreed. He never told a single soul of what conspired between us. That's the only thing that keeps me safe from suspicion. His and my secrets. … And I suppose you know how the story goes from there."

Katara shook her head slightly as she digested the horrid reality of Azula's past. But was also relieved because surely ' if Fire Lord Ozai doesn't know about what Zhao did to Azula, then he wont know of any reason as to why she might seek revenge against the man. Meaning, we aren't suspects in his murder. But then, who will be?'

As if reading the water benders mind, Azula answered, " Mai will be taking the blame for this, I'm afraid. Someone had to. "

Katara looked up at the princess in shock, " Wasn't she your friend? Why didn't you tell me this before?"

Azula calmly coated her lips in a blood red substance with a thin brush, and then smacked them together, looked at herself in the mirror, then, seemingly satisfied, looked away, " I owed you no explanation. And as she was my friend I'm sure she will understand my actions in the after life." The fire bender motioned for Katara to stand, " Now come, we have an execution to attend."

* * *

><p>Since Ozai's ascension to power, death by decapitation had become the primary method of execution used in the Fire Nation. For execution by this method, a rehearsal was done using a wooden block. This was to determine the sharpness of the blade of the ax used, as a fine edge was necessary to ensure a quick death. Only one slice to the neck was allowed, so if the blade was dull, the neck would become fractured, and death, while still ensured, was slow, and would result from asphyxiation. If this happened, then the face became engorged, the tongue protruded, eyes popped, the body defecated and violent movements of the limbs occurred.<p>

Immediately before the execution, ropes were tied to secure the prisoner's hands and legs, and he or she was blindfolded and gagged. The Fire Lord then would give a signal to the executioner to kill.

Mai knew all of these facts, and tried not to dwell on them as she blinked into the darkness of her blindfold, face itching from tears she couldn't wipe as her wrists were bound so tight they bled.

* * *

><p>They each took deep, shuttering breaths as they mapped the expanse of one another's' flesh with their fingertips, gasping in the wonder of each mole, dimple, edge and curve. Zuko always remembered details, and even now he knew the little things were going to be etched into his memory, the few tiny freckles on her shoulders, the birthmark above her left knee, he was going to remember all of it. Toph, meanwhile was anticipating her next move. She wanted to touch his face, because she hadn't before, aside from his lips. She wanted to see him in this moment because this was the first time. Last time, and they'd seemed to have agreed on this silently, didn't count.<p>

This time she was going to let her self enjoy it all, and to do that, it had to be slow, and it had to be soft. Well, convention told her that, and she agreed that that was what she wanted in this moment. So she moved her free hand, the one that wasn't clasped to his, to his face. She palmed a cheek, then moved her hand up, lightly over an eyelid. He was still. He did not want her to touch his face, but he allowed it because no one had in a long time, and he realized in that moment that he'd strangely missed the contact. She touched his scar, and he flinched. His nostrils flared slightly, and the simple contact to the area made him grow defensive and angry, but that all changed when she said, " You're beautiful."

And the way she said it, he believed her, and that made him say, "So are you."

They kissed, again, and again, and finally his hand was moving down and in-between her legs, fingers probing at her entrance and then sliding in and out, his hot breath against her neck, her hand moving from where it rested softly against his scar to his shoulder, gripping as he thrust the digit in and out. It wasn't painful, she was so wet she was dripping, and she was fine even as he slid in two fingers and stretched her by scissoring them. She spread her legs as the friction of his fingers started to become too much, she was ready for all of him. He scooted closer to her, sliding his hand from hers to rest under her thighs as he adjusted so that his hardened length was resting at her entrance. She wrapped a leg around his hip, bringing him closer. With that, he thrust into her, slowly, and then moved his hand back to hers, holding it as he continued pushing his hips forward, closing his eyes at the feeling of her warm tight heat.

* * *

><p>The crowd in the great hall had gathered. Most had been guests at the royal wedding, others were distant family members of the accused. They had chosen a more private arena so as not to cause any greater excitement among the general populace. Despite the commotion, Iroh had ensured that Lady Toph and Prince Zuko were not present. And he was going to do his best to assure they wouldn't find out. Though that would undoubtedly prove difficult.<p>

A tall man with a daunting demeanor, clad in white robes, spoke, " Our merciful Fire Lord Ozai has permitted you last words, you may speak them now."

The man removed the gag and she breathed heavily, gasping, speechless. Katara glanced to Azula whose own cool gaze never wavered from her quivering friend.

" I am innocent." Mai choked, " Please."

Ozai held in his hands the slip of paper Azula had tucked into Mai's obi the night of the wedding, " But in this letter, which you wrote, you confess to poisoning General Zhao, princess Azula, my son and his wife."

Ozai held the letter up beside him, so that the audience of palace officials and servants could see; he always liked making a show of these things. " And in it you describe your past relationship with my son, which we are all aware existed. You then go on to describe how he left you for the Lady Toph, and how your jealousy drove you to madness."

Mai shook her head, tears continuing to fall, " Kill them—I would never… Azula is my best friend!"

Azula stiffened at this remark, jaw clenching. Katara grasped her sleeve, whispered, " Do something."

The princes shrugged her servant off of her, Ozai continued, " You were involved in the preparations for the wedding feast. It wouldn't have been difficult for you to slip poison into the cake."

Mai shook her head, saying nothing, overcome with the fear of pain and death.

" And you state in this letter how you planned to commit suicide once these events had taken place. The only reason you fight for your life now, is because you failed."

The executioner raised his ax at Ozai's signal, which he did by raising his left pointer finger.

" By royal decree, I proclaim thee, Mai, guilty of treason. You are hereby sentenced to death by decapitation, followed by Ling Chi—

"No!" Mai screamed, writhing in her binds. Azula's jaw widened, and now it seemed she looked not out of feigned cold indifference, but because couldn't bring herself to look away. Katara looked on in confusion, she did not know of Ling Chi, or what it meant. But from the look on Azula's face, she assumed it couldn't be good.

As an official punishment, Ling Chi was a process in which, after the condemned person was executed, they would be cut to pieces, which meant that the body of the victim would not be "whole" in a spiritual life after death. It generally consisted of cuts to the arms, legs, and chest leading to amputation of limbs. Then the bones were cut systematically, the remains were cremated and the deceased ashes were scattered.

This meant, according to Fire Nation belief, that Mai would never reach salvation. Fire Nation people believed in spiritual survival, and in the ongoing presence of those who have departed in the spirit world, wherein they would stay to watch over their parents, or children, depending on when their death occurred. They would also visit the great dragon spirits, who would punish them for their worldly crimes, and forgive them after said punishment. After this, their soul would travel on and become one with the sun.

The dismemberment of Mai's body meant she would spend eternity lost in the spirit world, and her confused soul would return to the world of the living, and in the search for her body, she would torment her loved ones.

Mai was strongly superstitious, so this was, for her, devastating.

General Iroh shook his head sadly from where he stood, but remained silent.

He raised his entire hand, and the executioner brought the blade down.

Blood splattered like shattered red glass, spewing and spraying onto the floor. Dark hair matted in the thick dark liquid, and Katara felt herself losing conscious as the executioner gripped the raven locks, simultaneously removing the stained blindfold and and lifting the girls head for all to see, her lifeless eyes still open with dread.

Azula gripped her servants' body, dragged her away from the scene, and didn't watch as her dead friends' corpse was torn to pieces.

* * *

><p>For Next Time: Sokka is trapped in a Fire Nation prison, can he get out? And is there merit to Fire Nation superstition?<p>

Read. Review. Seriously, I considered dropping this story, but you guys' reviews encouraged me and inspired me to write on. So please keep reviewing, for you are all my muses, after all.


	13. Chapter 13

The Fire Nation has a large system of prison camps, all of which are held along the Nations northern border, on the edge of the sea. Most of the prisoners were people accused of criticizing the government, which included all who resisted Fire Nation takeover in their cities or villages.

Sokka had fought bravely for his home, but being the only man in his village made it impossible for him to succeed in preventing the Fire Nation Soldiers from accomplishing their siege. After claiming the ice-lands, they'd concluded the frozen tundra as useless, and abandoned it after taking the village people hostage. Once captured and on board the huge steam driven ship, ropes had been tied around their necks and they'd been strapped to the mainmast, unable to escape.

" What are you going to do to us?" Katara had demanded. Sokka assumed it would be death.

A young male soldier had informed them that their ships general would decide their fate. Sokka had expected a large middle aged man and was therefore quite shocked when the general arrived, and turned out to be a beautiful young woman. She was tall, curvaceous, and had milky pale skin and plump red lips. Her beauty was merely a facade however, as the siblings had soon discovered how wicked she truly was.

She'd glanced Katara once, and Sokka would say the look was almost lecherous. But homosexuality was forbidden in the Fire Nation, so he figured he'd misinterpreted the look.

The Fire Nation general had then informed Katara that she "was to be her servant henceforth." Katara had resisted, and the General, Azula, as she'd introduced herself, had held a blade of fire to Sokka's throat, " Come with me, or he dies." She had said. Naturally, Katara acquiesced, despite Sokka's protests. Azula cut the rope from the mainmast and then gripped it, tugging slightly, causing Katara to choke slightly. Azula smirked, " Yes, you'll do fine."

"Stay away from my sister!" Sokka had shouted, and the Captain only laughed, flipping a wisp of her dark hair over an iron- clad shoulder.

He'd watched his sister be dragged away from him by the rope around her neck by the Fire Nation bitch, and, with ten Fire Nation Soldier's spears pointed to his throat, could say nothing else. Katara had watched him with fearful blue eyes until she was forced into the female captains cabin, from which he never saw her emerge throughout his voyage. He had heard her crying from within though, and he had wondered what strange tortures the Fire Nation girl had put his sister through.

He'd never felt more emasculated or useless in his life.

He hadn't seen or heard from Katara since. When he and the other prisoners were dropped off at one of the Fire Nations concentration camps, she had not been among them.

He wondered of the fate of his sister every day, and hoped she fared better than he.

He wondered about her even now, trying to keep his focus away from the blazing heat.

Prisoners at the Fire Nations concentration camps lived in bunkhouses with one hundred people per room. He and ninety-nine other prisoners had the misfortune of being placed in the bunk near the boiler room. Being so close to the sea, changing water levels often meant that the room would flood. It never reached past three feet, but it also never went below six inches, so his feet were in a state of constant submergence.

Mid day was the worst in the cell, and the room's temperature, what with the heat transmitted from the sun, the boilers, and the crowded masses, would reach past one hundred degrees. Growing up in a land of ice and snow, he could barely withstand the burning. People were removed daily, having died from strokes and heat exhaustion. But they were replaced daily, new prisoners from the earth kingdom pouring in.

He looked up at the sound of the wrought iron gate opening, mucky water sloshing as it did so. Three prisoners who'd been removed earlier were returned. They bore the markings of torture and beatings - torn ears, gouged eyes and faces covered with scars. He wasn't surprised at their appearance; torture was a daily occurrence.

He himself had lost an ear to it for not bowing once when they'd opened the gates.

He sighed as they were shoved in, causing sweaty, malnourished bodies to bump into eachother.

He'd hoped it would be food, although it would only be watery corn meal. Sometimes a rat would appear in their midst, but he no longer had the strength for fighting over one. Only new prisoners had any strength, and it didn't last.

He glanced down at his hands, swallowed at the sight of the thin, wiry fingers. Below them were his feet, submerged in water, but even through the polluted muck he could see that his toes were reddening. Some were even purple. One was completely black.

It was gangrene. He wondered how much longer he'd be able to stand on them. The pain in most of his toes was unbearable, but the blackened one had grown completely numb. He supposed the tissue there had died.

His attention perked again as the gates opened once more. He gulped as a guard pointed to him, limping forward apprehensively. Resistance was futile.

He wondered if today was his last. If it weren't for his sister, and his desperation to reunite with her, and save her, he would've gladly gotten himself killed much earlier.

The masked guard placed a firm grip on his shoulder, leading him down the darkened corridor that lead to the guard's courtyard. As they approached, he could already make out the sounds of cruel laughter.

He blinked away tears as his eyes adjusted to the sunlight. It'd been at least three days since he'd last been outside. His first instinct, strangely, had been to look up at the sky. It was crystal blue, just like he remembered it. The earth beneath him, firm, just like he remembered it.

Sometimes the sky and the earth are all you can depend on to always be there.

The courtyard was a field of green, with white flower weeds popping out of the ground. He supposed the prison had been built on what was once a beautiful field.

'So this is what the Fire Nation calls progress.' He thought, bitterly.

Wrapped around it were the wrought iron walls of the prison, atop which roughly fifteen guards were currently patrolling. He noticed with disinterest that there seemed to be a bit of confusion passing between the patrolling guards about an approaching ship, one of them was insisting that it looked strange. The rest were passive, dismissing the paranoid guard and reminding him that it was simply another fish merchant there to sell the soldiers fresh crab.

Or at least he thought that was what they were saying, roughly. He couldn't be entirely sure as they were high atop the gates of the prison, and he was all the way down on the ground.

The guards who were currently off duty payed no mind to what was occurring above them; after all they were on their break. And they had better things to do: throw darts at prisoners, and feast, and rape.

His soggy feet padded with pained delight at the feeling of the cool, dry, and soft grass beneath them.

Five guards were throwing darts at an elderly man, laughing. A few more, about seven, were sitting at the edge of the clearing, drinking rice wine and eating roasted pork.

Sokka eyed the pork, wondering how long it had been since he'd last eaten any meat.

'Months.' He reminded himself.

Soon his attention was pulled away from the food, however, as he noticed something that made his stomach churn, and not from hunger.

A naked earth kingdom girl lay unconscious a few feet away from them. One of the guards, growing tired of the dart throwing, moved to join the feasting men, patting the girls bottom playfully on his way there, otherwise ignoring her. Sokka's nostrils flared as he could make out an unmistakable pool of red between her legs.

Guards routinely raped female inmates. From the curves on her body, he supposed she was a new one. They preferred those. Girls who'd been there long were nothing but skin and bones.

He stumbled forward as the guard pushed him roughly, urging him to travel to the center of the clearing, " Go on, join the old fart."

He travelled slowly, each second a small eternity. He winced when a dart stabbed into his back. His eyes travelled back to the fallen woman, she was stirring.

' Pretend to still be unconscious.' He chanted in the back of his mind. The guards would return to assaulting her if they knew she was awake. As her arm shifted, it seemed she'd temporarily forgotten where she was. After a moment, her body grew still again. So still, he knew she was faking. Its what she had to do if she wanted to avoid the guards' attention. He couldn't see her face, as her rich, coffee colored hair covered it.

Another guard escorted the old man back into the prison, wherein his wounds would undoubtedly fester.

Another dart pricked into his flesh, followed by three more. The guards laughed, encouraging a young soldier to throw a few. He missed. Embarrassed, he threw a few more. One hit Sokka's infected foot, where an oozing sore was. He cried out from the impossible pain, hunching.

They only laughed louder, throwing more darts as he fought the urge to scream.

" Run around a bit, it's better practice!" One of them shouted. Another dart shot into him, and so he pours his remaining strength into his legs, focusing, limping as fast as he could, which was not very fast, away from them. He felt tempted to run to the girl, to her aid, but he knew better. They'd only kill them both. As he ran, dart whizzing past him. He stumbled again, distracted by a sound so immense in its cacophony that his ears rung from it, he shook from it, the ground trembled.

The guard-tower at the front of the camp crumbled, smoke and gravel spewing from it.

Suddenly the guards weren't laughing anymore, instead, they were running to the scene, running to their fellow soldiers aid.

Sokka seized his opportunity, and so did the naked woman. She stood with remarkable agility, and began to run. Fast. Sokka tried to keep up, she seemed to know where she was going, but with his rotting feet, it was impossible.

He cried out, "Help!" She kept running, and he tried once more, " Help me!"

She slowed down, turned, glanced over him. She paused, calculating. Miraculously, she started sprinting towards him. Sokka limped to her, and once she reached him she flung one of his arms over her shoulder and began almost dragging him with a strength he hadn't expected. Now, as she pulled him across the emptied courtyard, he realized her arms and legs were, although very feminine, quite muscular.

" It's the revolutionaries." She remarked, pulling him back into the dark hallway. A guard stood at the end, and noticed them. He seemed confused as the whether he should stand guard at the gates or go to the tower. Unthreatened by a naked woman and dying man, he approached them, defenses down. Once he was within three feet of them, about to ask them a question, the girl slammed her palm into his nose, shoving the bone into his brain and killing him, her other arm still supporting Sokka.

The water tribe boy had no doubt that if less than six guards had surrounded her before, she could have fought them off. Fate had dealt her ten.

The girl crouched, letting go of Sokka for a moment, and removed the man's tunic and helmet, throwing the red garb over herself. She then took his keys, and unlocked the gates, the prisoners gasping excitedly and worriedly as she did so.

As she opened them, screaming, " Go!" The people stood in place in fear, wondering if perhaps this was some cruel trick.

She growled, "Go!"

They didn't move. Sokka turned to them, " This is your only chance people! Don't you want to see your families again? Don't you want revenge? That explosion earlier is only going to distract the guards for so long. I don't know how it happened—but it must be the revolution. So seize the opportunity, now!"

Coming to their senses, the able bodied folk began to push forward, some helping the weak, most saving themselves, running. The old man from dart practice earlier hobbled back towards the courtyard, mumbling to himself about the beef stew leftovers. Sokka could understand that strain of thought, and was almost tempted to do the same.

The girl sighed and threw his arm over her shoulder again, " Lets get out of here. I know a way."

Sokka ran with her, tripping as she took a sudden turn, " Why are you helping me?"

She glanced at him, " You asked."

* * *

><p>Toph turned over onto her side, breathing in the smell of Zuko's hair, which carried the scent of amber and musk. She moved a hand over his chest, running soft fingertips down his firm stomach, plucking a salmon peak as she did so. Goosebumps followed her touch, and she moved her hand down to his still naked cock, gripping the tender flesh, sliding her hand up and down the flaccid length. It started to stiffen in her hand, but his breathing indicated he was still sleeping. That just wouldn't do. She bit his ear roughly, rousing him into waking.<p>

He turned onto his back, clearing his throat and rubbing an eye. " Again?" He asked tiredly, but she was not fooled for she could hear the small, begrudging smile in his voice.

"It's our honeymoon." She commented, giggling evilly as she moved to straddle his hips.

Traditionally, Fire Nation honeymoons lasted three days. Today was the last.

The first night, they'd been so excited to be alive, they'd copulated, and were both confused when they'd found their door to the halls locked.

The night after the wedding ceremonies, the couple was locked in their bedchamber, and left with many delicious treats. Aphrodisiacs were also placed in the room, for the shy couples.

Toph had thrown them out the window when Zuko had explained to her what they were when she'd almost downed one of the small flasks, thinking it was liquid candy.

"We don't need them." She'd proclaimed. Zuko had scoffed at her attitude, but wasn't resistant at all towards her advances once she'd made them.

When they first realized why the door had been locked, the girl had given him the most salacious look he'd ever seen. It had almost terrified him, but that was mostly because he hadn't known it was possible to get an erection from one look.

Now, he placed to large calloused hands on her hips, "And you're going to insist on being on top. Again." He said dryly, and then groaned when she wiggled down and gripped his penis, guiding it to press between her folds and against her clitoris.

" You don't seem to mind it too much, Sparky." She teased.

She gyrated her hips more and bit her lip to prevent herself from moaning as she rubbed the slit of his cockhead against her bud. He moved his hands to her perky little breasts and squeezed them, adjusting his palms so that his thumbs rested on her nipples, rotating their little peaks in small circles.

She continued the back and forward motion of her hips, feeling his pre-cum begin to leak from the slit of his head and began moving more, so that his it was pressing and sliding over her entrance. Toph smiled wanly as she recalled the way she'd bounced on his dick the night before, the way she'd been able to slam him into her so forcefully and deliciously. She wanted it again.

He moved an arm down, adjusting to where he was propped up against a few pillows, so that he had a better view of her writhing over his cockhead. He licked his lips in anticipation, and moaned deeply as she gripped the base of his cock and began sliding him into her. Once she was seated to the hilt, he moved his hands to grip her hips once more, where they hung loosely as she seemed to have no issues with balancing herself atop his thick length. Toph placed a dainty hand on one of his wide shoulders, kneading it in her palm and smirking when she felt his slick shaft inside her. He groaned from the wet friction of their bodies.

Toph cried out with each satisfying thrust, Zuko grinding himself upward. Her toes curled as he shifted his upward thrusts slightly, and she ran a hand through her own long dark hair. Zuko looked her up and down, marveling at how such a delicately framed girl could ride him so hard.

The heat began to build and Zuko could feel himself growing closer to orgasm. Toph squeezed experimentally around him, and as she did so, he came, hard, his back arching and his abdominals flexing as he did so.

When he was finished, she removed herself from his cock, and then lied flat on her back, beside him.

" Did you…?" He began, and she shook her head.

" But I want to."

Zuko gave her an inquisitive look, " It's going to take me a moment to…" He looked down at his limp dick, and she chuckled.

" You don't just have to use that."

Zuko ground his teeth; annoyed she apparently knew more about the subject than he did. But he wanted to pleasure her all the same, wanted to hear her cry out, wanted to overpower her.

He crawled on top of her, scanned her teasing, flushed face. He moved a hand down in between her legs, and began rubbing his index finger over her sweet spot. His mouth moved down to her breast, where he licked casually. The hand he had placed above her head clenched, red silk sheets wrinkling within his fist.

Toph brought her own hand to her breast, which he sucked at harshly.

She placed a fingertip at his lips, " Use this."

He leaned up, dark eyebrows furrowing, " I am…"

Her hand travelled downward, and she pointed to her nether regions. The finger he had on her clit stilled.

He grimaced, " You don't really expect me to put my mouth there."

Her eyebrows raised, arms crossing over her perky breasts, " Yes, I do."

She'd sensed others performing the act before, and the women receiving it always seemed to be enjoying it thoroughly. Now she wanted it.

Zuko withdrew, " But that's gross."

Toph glared at him, " You just had your dick in there."

'Exactly.' He thought to himself, and he cleared his throat. Toph spread her legs obscenely, and he watched as some of his own thick creamy semen dripped out from her tight hole. He did not think he wanted to taste that.

He stood from the bed, running a hand through his messy hair, which was especially wild as he still had gel in it from the wedding.

" I need to take a shower." He said, at last.

Toph watched him retreat into their bathroom, and he clicked the door shut behind him, his face bright red.

Toph glowered, unsatisfied, shouted after him, " This is exactly why you people are so violent. Not enough oral."

He said something indistinguishable behind the doorframe, but she figured it was probably just a squawk of indignation.

The earthbender rolled off the bed, and contemplated her next step.

She walked about the room, feeling around until she had her hands on a small potted flower on their night stand that was presumably a wedding gift. She grabbed the dirt from it, and spread it onto her feet.

The floors of their room were metal, so she could see but not with perfect clarity. The small film of earth helped slightly, and she began spreading it across the floor, shrugging when she realized he might have a negative reaction to the mess she was making.

She needed to find where he might keep any military information, even that which came from his studies. The earth kingdom had to familiarize them-selves with Fire Nation stratagem, if they ever wanted to surprise and overcome the powerful nation.

After a few moments, her hand rested on the hilt of what felt like a military scroll. She'd been instructed on what military scrolls hilts would feel like on the long boat ride to the Fire Nation by Xin Fu ages ago, and she was somewhat surprised she even remembered.

Toph jumped when she heard the door begin to creak open, and turned around, still naked, then approached the bathroom door her-self, quickly.

" I need to shower too." She announced, " I accidentally knocked over that flower pot, by the way," She lied smoothly. Zuko just sighed at the state of disarray the room was in.

'I'll worry about that military stuff later. I'm going to get this idiot prince to eat me out first.' She thought to herself, leaving the bathroom door open as she stepped into the bath.

* * *

><p>They arrived at last to a nondescript door. She gestured for him to stand back, and kicked it in. Her skill in doing so made him wonder as to her martial arts training, but he refocused when he took in the sight of the large window in the room.<p>

She looked around for a moment, then picked up a polished wooden desk seat, and smashed it into the window, glass flying. She shielded her face with her arm, a few gashes slicing into her skin. Ignoring the pain, she moved to the bed that was at the corner of the room, removed the sheets, and then pushed it out the window.

"What are you doing?" Sokka finally asked.

" We're by the sea. That's our raft." She handed him the bed sheet, then began rummaging through the rooms dresser, pulling out more sheets.

He glanced out the window. They were indeed right on the waters edge, a few feet of gravelly sand the only thing separating the particular area of the prison they were currently in from the vast blue expanse.

At the sounds of a few footsteps and shouts from down the hallway, she turned and took the sword that was hung upon the wall, and threw the sheets at him. " Start tying those together. I hope you have enough energy to get down." Sokka nodded, wondering if he did. God, he hoped so.

The girl exited the room, and he heard shouting coming from at least two men as she did so. Swords clanged, and he tied the sheets with a quickness that he didn't know his body was still capable of. He hoped the girl was good with a sword, he certainly wasn't, not in this state.

And he had to get out of this place. He had to find Katara.

The girl re entered the room, sword soaked in blood and a long gash across her shoulder. She threw the sword unto the ground beside her, then closed the door behind her.

They worked together for the next few minutes on tying the sheets together. She then pushed what was left in the room onto the bed, and secured the long sash to one of the legs of the bed, and threw it out the window.

"Follow my lead." She said, and he nodded. She hopped out the window, then and began repelling down the side of the prison wall. Sokka grasped the rope tightly, swung his legs over the window ledge, scraping his knee on some of the remaining glass. He shimmied down after her, not travelling nearly as fast. There was a fourteen feet drop from the end of the tied sheets to the ground below, and she made it with ease, tumbling safely to break her fall, flashing her bloodied privates as she did so, causing him to look away, although not from embarrassment. He was too taxed to feel embarrassed, but he was cordial all the same. When he reached the end of the rope he knew he was going to be damaging his ankles; he knew how to tumble safely but his almost useless feet weren't strong enough to propel it.

The girl, who was pushing the mattress into the edge of the sea, turned in exasperation and began pushing it so that it would be below him, breaking his fall.

She glanced around her, checking for more guards, and breathed a small sigh of relief as none were approaching. She turned back to him, " Jump."

He did, gasping as he landed on the bed, his bottom stinging from the impact. He rolled off, wheezing from the energy spent. The infection from his feet had been giving him a fever, and it weakened him considerably.

The girl again pushed the bed out to sea, and he moved tentatively into the water, wounds stinging from the salt.

They continued until they were waist deep, and then pushed themselves up onto the mattress, her helping him. She glanced him over, " You're a water bender, right?"

He gulped, wondering if that had been her reasoning for bringing him along, " No. I'm just a regular guy."

The girl sighed deeply, "Then this is going to be much more difficult." She looked around, " We have no choice. We have to use our hands."

She cupped her palm and dove it into the water, pushing it as if it were an oar, and gave him a pointed look. He copied her movements, and they began moving.

He couldn't believe it. He'd been dreaming to escape since the moment he'd set foot into the prison, and now the moment had come at last. A part of him had almost given up hope.

After fifteen minutes, Sokka turned to her slightly, " How is it that you're so strong?"

She chuckled, "Where I come from, the women are the warriors."

He nodded in understanding; he'd heard of such places before, though there were not many.

Her affect cooled, as her thoughts seemed to wander, "Although, clearly, I wasn't strong enough." Her jaw clenched.

He thought back to the courtyard and the state in which she'd been. He decided, wisely, not to ask her.

Instead he said, " Thank-you."

She smiled at him in response, though it was strained. Both of them were growing tired from using their hands as oars to push them, and ten minutes in he'd become almost useless, as he was beyond weary.

" We just need to make it a few miles down the shoreline. If we can get to a remote village, we should be able to steal some supplies and lay low until we figure something else out."

Sokka nodded, though he was shocked she planned on allowing him to tag along even after they'd reached safer land.

"What's your name?" He asked. Her round brown eyes looked into his.

" Suki."


End file.
